Learning From Past Mistakes
by jadedcutie494
Summary: What if Peyton didn't just watch Brooke walk out of her room that night? What if she stood up for her actions with Lucas? Starts at the end of Suddenly Everyting Has Changed
1. Chapter 1: Best Friends

Disclaimer: I wish I owned it.

A/N: hi, so this is my first One Tree Hill fic, please bare with me on it. I'm still not a hundred percent sure where I'm going with it, but hopefully it'll be worth reading. Here it is...

Chapter 1: Best Friends

Peyton Sawyer was sitting in her bed, sketching. This wasn't unusual for her. In fact, if she was at home, she was most likely sketching. She was lost in thought, and so when her best friend walked into the room, she didn't notice, until she heard the soft "Hey." She looked up, and gave her a slightly hesitant smile. She was still feeling guilty, even though she'd told Lucas they couldn't be together. She hadn't wanted to hurt Brooke, so she'd said no to the only boy she'd ever loved. But she pushed those thoughts out of her head, and thought about why Brooke was here, at this hour.

"You're out late" She said, and her smile faded slightly when Brooke only nodded in response. There was the slightest of pauses before Brooke spoke.

"Lucky thing, you finding Lucas like that." She said, and Peyton froze. She couldn't speak, could only nod her head, so Brooke continued. "If you hadn't come along, who knows what might've happened." Peyton managed to find her voice this time.

"Everything turned out ok." She said, but Brooke shook her head, and Peyton felt the panic rising. _She can't know, can she?_

"No, not really." Brooke said, and Peyton knew, even while still denying it, that Brooke had round out somehow. "I don't know what hurts worse: you and Lucas sneaking around behind my back, or you lying about it to my face."

"Brooke-"

"No," Brooke cut her off. "The next time you wanna steal my boyfriend, you might wanna turn that thing off" she told her, pointing to the computer and webcam on the desk behind Peyton. She turned to look at it before she looked back at Brooke, who continued, "I went into his room to check on him. And his computer was on. I know you two were together. He meant everything to me Peyton. And I was ready to try and be his friend if that's what he needed." She paused, and Peyton looked away briefly before Brooke added, "and now I don't really care if I see either one of you again" She turned to leave, and Peyton looked back to the webcam, and wondered if Lucas was watching. The thought of Lucas reminded, and remembering why he'd been in her room in the first place, and having just heard Brooke's words made her angry, so she turned back.

"Brooke," the word came out so harshly that the brunette stopped in the doorway, and turned back to see Peyton getting off the bed. The blonde stood, arms folded across her chest, as the brunette glared at her.

"What?" she spat, and that was the last straw for Peyton.

"You know what Brooke? You talk about me being such a bad friend, and how I lied to you, and I was trying to steal your boyfriend, but do you remember how you acted when he first joined the team? You wanted to sleep with him, cause he was hot. You were so wrapped up in trying to seduce the new boy that you couldn't even see how into him I was. And that week I broke up with Nathan, and went nuts in practice, you didn't even wonder why, but Lucas did. He knew there was something wrong. Do you even know what that week was for me Brooke? It was the week my mum died. But you and Nathan made it all about you. And Lucas was there for me. He understood the pain I felt. And after that, you kept flirting with him, and you were too blind to see that we wanted each other. Or maybe you weren't, so you tried to set me and Nathan up again, at that thing at Dan's house."

"I thought it was you want-" Brooke cut in, but Peyton cut her off again just as quickly.

"No Brooke, it was what you wanted. You wanted me out of the way, so you could get to Lucas. Then I kissed him, and the next morning you didn't even ask what had happened, why we hadn't slept together. You didn't know that I freaked out cause he said he wanted to be with me, in every sense of the word. Even when I was slipped a date rape drug, it became about you bonding with Lucas. At that night, when I turned up at Lucas' and you were there."

"You were returning a CD" Brooke said, angrier now.

"No, Brooke. I told you I was returning a CD, cause you wouldn't even stop for one minute to really see how upset I was. But to be honest, I told him that night that I wanted to be with him, that wanted everything that he wanted. Then you came out, and I left. And the next day, you seemed so happy, so I lied. And when you wanted to be closer to him, I tried to help. And I lied again and said I was uncomfortable about being a third wheel around you two. I tried to tell you so many times what was wrong, but every time I tried, you'd cut me off, gushing about how happy you were, so I'd stop and try to ignore what I was feeling, just like you were."

"That's not fair. I was caught up in having a real boyfriend for the first time. I'm sorry if I didn't notice, but that still doesn't give you the right to sleep with my boyfriend."

"We never slept together Brooke. We started to, but we realised what we were doing, and we stopped. Neither of us wanted to hurt you, so we tried to bury it. But we couldn't. So the night Lucas' mum got back, we were gonna tell you that we wanted to be together. I started to, but as you know, things changed."

"Lucas went into a coma. And when he woke up, there you were, ready to comfort him." Brooke sneered, and Peyton felt a very brief urge to hit something.

"Are you even listening to yourself, or me? You know what happened when I got that call from Haley? My heart stopped, it literally stopped beating for a second. And then I had to stop myself from rushing to the hospital, because you were still his girlfriend. So I stayed, and it killed me. I stayed away from the hospital because I couldn't bear to be in the same room as you, even though I was dying to see Lucas. When Haley told me he was awake, it was like my body jolted back into life all of a sudden. But I still didn't see him, not until he was at home. I saw him after he'd broken up with you, and I was so happy to see him, and in that moment, yes, I didn't care about you or how upset you must have been. But I did later, at the mall. So when Lucas said he wanted to see me, I said I couldn't. And that's when he came to see me, and passed out. You know where I was, half an hour ago? I was at Lucas', telling him that we couldn't be together because it wasn't fair on you. Because you were there for me when my mum died, and I couldn't betray you. So I left him, for you. So go ahead and tell me that I'm a bad friend, Brooke. Tell me that I betrayed you, and lied to you and whatever else you need to make yourself feel better. But just think about the fact that I forced myself to ignore my feelings so that you wouldn't get hurt. But you know what, I guess now that we're not friends, I don't need to worry about that, do I? You know, if you'd been a true friend, none of this would've happened in the first place. I was willing to let him go, to stay his friend for you, but now... now I'm not sure you deserve that from me." She turned around, and picked up her bag, before she walked out past Brooke, not looking at her once.

Lucas watched the scene unfold silently on his computer screen, and he knew, somehow, that Brooke knew about him and Peyton. He felt bad, she had a good heart and she didn't deserve it, but he had thought he was doing the right thing when he broke up with her. He didn't want to lie to her, and he couldn't keep pretending. He watched in surprise as Peyton stopped Brooke, and let loose. He had rarely seen this side of her, and one other time came to mind; the day she went off in cheerleading practice. He watched as Peyton left the room, and Brooke started up into the webcam before she turned and left too. Almost 15 minutes later, Lucas was still staring at the empty room when someone knocked on his outside door.

"Come in," he called without turning around. He heard the door open, but only turned at the voice.

"So, I guess you saw everything, huh?" Peyton was standing there, on the verge of tears. He got up and went to her, and pulled her into a one armed hug. She clung to him, and he held her.

"Hey, it's ok. It's all gonna be ok, I promise." He whispered into her hair. She looked up, and he could see the tears in her green eyes, but they weren't as close to spilling as earlier.

"I don't know, Luke. How can it be ok? I just... I need... I don't know what I need." Lucas was at a loss as to what to say to her, and then realised: Haley.

"Not to sound like I'm trying to dump this all on someone else, but do you wanna talk to Haley? She's closing at the cafe tonight, we could go there, have some hot chocolate. She makes a very good hot chocolate, and she's an excellent listener." She nodded once, and he reached down to take her hand. "Ok, just let me tell my mum, or she'll freak again." He led her out to the kitchen, where Karen was sitting at the table. She looked up, and looked surprised to see Peyton there.

"Oh, Peyton. You're out late... what's wrong?" she got up out of her chair.

"She had a fight with Brooke, a big one. Can I take her to the cafe to see Haley? She can drive, and we'll go to the cafe and back." Karen looked like she wanted to say no, but as she looked between the two teenagers in front of her, she found herself nodding.

"Ok, but only to the cafe."

"I promise, Ms Roe. I won't let anything happen to him." Peyton said softly, and Karen smiled. As nice as Brooke was, and as much as she appeared to care about her son, there was something else about Peyton. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

"I believe you, now off you go. Don't be too late, Lucas. You need rest."

"I promise mum." He turned to leave, but stopped in the doorway, turned back. He walked over and kissed her cheek, and whispered "I love you" before he turned and followed Peyton out the door.

Peyton parked at the rear of the cafe, and he led her in through the back door. They were silent as they walked through the kitchen. He could hear voices, and realised that Nathan was with Haley.

"Were you serious, about doing something for me?" Lucas stopped short when he heard this, and even Peyton's eyes widened.

"Well it depends. What is it?" They heard Haley ask, but there was only silence instead of a response. They shared a quick look before they continued towards the front of the building.

"Nathan..."

"Now's your chance" they heard him say, and heard Haley's soft "no."

"Come on, you said you'd do anything to help me, and this would really help me take my mind off things." Lucas was about to storm out there, when Peyton laid a gentle hand on his arm. They looked out and saw Nathan leading Haley to the piano in the front corner, and Lucas almost laughed as he watched a nervous Haley sit down on the stool. He'd only heard her sing once, and she'd stopped as soon as she realised he was there.

"You asked for it," she informed Nathan as she sat, and heard him say "Yeah, I did." Lucas looked down at Peyton, who was watching him, and they smiled. They crept forward a little to get a better view of the piano, and watched as she began to play. Then her voice joined the piano, and they all listened to the words.

_"I love the time and in between._

_The calm inside me._

_In this space where I can breath_

_I believe there is a distance that I have wandered,_

_To touch upon the years._

_Reaching out, and reaching in_

_Holding out, and holding in_

_I believe, this is heaven to no one else but me_

_And I'll defend it long as, I can be_

_Left here to linger in silence, if I choose to_

_Would you try to understand_

_Oh the quiet child awaits the day that she can break free_

_The mould that clings like desperation_

_Oh mother don't you see I've got to live my life_

_The way I feel is right for me_

_You say it's not right for you, but it's right for me_

_I believe, this is heaven to no one else but me_

_And I'll defend it long as, I can be_

_Left here to linger in silence, if I choose to_

_Would you try to understand"_

She drifted off, and looked over at Nathan, who got up and walked towards her. He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her, holding her. Peyton looked at Lucas, and he took her hand and led her out into the main part of the cafe. Nathan and Haley turned in surprise as they heard them.

"Oh my god! How the hell did you get in, and more importantly, how long have you been standing there?" Haley demanded, and when Lucas smiled, she hung her head and groaned.

"We've been here since about, 'Were you serious, about doing something for me?'. You should've seen Lucas' face until we realised Nathan was talking about the piano." Peyton only smiled when Nathan looked angry and Lucas glared at her. It took Haley about a second longer to realise what they meant. When she did, she looked at Lucas disbelievingly, and then she hit him.

"Lucas! I can't believe you! OH!" Haley kept hitting him until Peyton felt sorry for him and stepped in.

"Hey, in Lucas' defence, I thought the same thing. I mean, it did kinda sound like he was... anyway, that was a great song, you're really good." Haley groaned again, and put her head in her hands.

"I can't believe you guys heard that, I didn't even want to sing for Nathan, and now you all heard me."

"Hey, it was great, we loved it, promise." Lucas pulled her into a hug.

"Yeah, I never knew you were such a good singer." Peyton added. Haley was smiling when she pulled away from Lucas and stepped back towards Nathan.

"Ok, now that I've mostly recovered from the embarrassment, what are you two doing here. Lucas, I'm surprised your mum let you out after what happened this afternoon." She saw Peyton and Lucas share an uneasy look, and she took Nathan's hand. "Nathan, why don't you help Lucas get some hot chocolate from the back, ok?" She looked up at him, and despite the unsure look on his face, he nodded, and he and Lucas headed around the counter and into the kitchen. "So, is this a story that will require me sitting down?" She asked, and Peyton nodded, so they sat down at the nearest table. "Ok, fill me, don't spare the details."

"Well, you know me and Lucas were gonna tell Brooke the night of the accident?" Haley nodded, and she continued "well, that didn't happen, but when I went to see him yesterday, he told me he'd broken up with Brooke, and he asked if we could wait a few days and tell her everything else in a few days. So I didn't say anything when we saw her. Then today, when Lucas came to see me, Brooke was in his room to check on him and his computer was on, and she saw us on my webcam. She came to see me, just before, and she told me. She was really angry, saying all this stuff about how important Lucas was to her, and how she was going to try to be his friend if he wanted, but now she didn't care if she never saw either of us again. And I don't know what happened, but I snapped. I mean, I'd just gotten back from telling Lucas that we couldn't be together, cause I couldn't do that to Brooke, and I got so angry, and I yelled at her, and I told her that she'd never noticed how into him I was, and how much it was killing me to see them together. And then I told her what I'd told Lucas, about not being together, and then I said that she didn't deserve me doing that for her, and then I left, and I went to see Lucas, and he'd seen everything, and he asked me if I wanted to come here, and I said yes, so we asked his mum, and she said yes, and then we came here, and well, you know the rest." Peyton let out a whoosh of breath as she finished, and Haley sat quietly for a minute, taking it all in.

"Ok," she said a minute later, "well, I guess I can kind of understand Brooke's anger, but I also understand yours. But I guess the question is, do you wanna be with Lucas or fix your friendship with Brooke?"

"Can't I do both? I mean, I don't wanna loose Brooke as a friend, or at least, I didn't before, but I also want a chance to see what's between Lucas and I." Peyton looked lost as she stared at Haley, and Haley found her heart breaking just a little for her.

"I totally understand, Peyton. You know that Lucas wasn't all for me and Nathan, still isn't a lot of the time, but he understands that I need to be with him. Of course, there isn't the problem of him wanting to be with him, but still. I mean, to him, I was his best friend who wanted to date his brother, who previously spent a good deal of time making life miserable for him. But our friendship was too important, and if he hadn't come around, I might've considered not dating Nathan, but Lucas was a good enough friend to not let me do that. If you and Brooke have as strong a relationship as Lucas and I do, she'll come around. Best friends can forgive each other anything" she said, echoing Karen's words. "But she's feeling betrayed, and after your little outburst, probably wary about coming near you. You might wanna make the first move." Haley moved around the table to sit next to Peyton when she started to cry. "It's gonna be ok, trust me."

"But what if it's not? Haley, telling Lucas we couldn't be together tonight was the hardest thing I think I've ever had to do, I don't wanna do it again. Although by now, I've probably scared him off with all the crying." Haley had to laugh when she said that.

"Peyton, I don't think you could ever scare Lucas off. I know you feel the need to look strong and untouchable, but it's ok to lean on someone once in a while, and let me tell you, if you're gonna lean on anyone, Lucas is pretty steady."

The two boys had been working in silence in the back for over five minutes before Lucas finally broke the silence.

"Hey, Nathan, I'm sorry about the whole... thing earlier. It wasn't personal..." when he snorted, Lucas shrugged, "ok, it was slightly personal, but trust me, I would've reacted the same way no matter what guy was saying those things to Haley. I think we should all just be thankful Peyton was there to stop me from attempting to beat your ass." Nathan laughed when he said that, and he turned to him. "What?"

"So you admit that you wouldn't be able to kick my ass then?"

"No, just that in this current condition, I wouldn't. Give me a few weeks to get back in shape, and get the use of my arm back, and we'll see who can beat up who." They shared a quick smile before finishing up the hot chocolates.

"So Lucas, care to explain what's going on?" Lucas looked at him, and sighed.

"I sorta broke up with Brooke yesterday to be with Peyton, and then things happened, and Peyton told me earlier that we couldn't be together, it wasn't fair for Brooke, and I guess after that happened Brooke showed up at her place and told her she knew about us. She saw us on Peyton's webcam, I guess, when I went to see her. And then Peyton got angry, and eventually stormed out. Now, I don't know what's going on."

"Well, are you two gonna be together now?" Nathan asked.

"Uh, she told me an hour ago we couldn't." Lucas reminded him, and Nathan rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, but that was before Brooke paid her a little visit. And she's here now, with you, not with Brooke. You do the math. Well, let's go see if these hot chocolates reach Haley's standards." Nathan said picking up two cups, and Lucas snickered as he did the same. They walked out to see Haley hugging Peyton.

"Peyton, I don't think you could ever scare Lucas off. I know you feel the need to look strong and untouchable, but it's ok to lean on someone once in a while, and let me tell you, if you're gonna lean on anyone, Lucas is pretty steady." Nathan threw Lucas a knowing look, and then cleared his throat. He sat down next to Haley, while Lucas took the seat next to Peyton.

20 minutes later they'd finished their hot chocolate, which Haley had informed them was acceptable, and Nathan and Haley were in the back cleaning up. Peyton took Lucas' hand, and rested her free one against his face.

"Lucas, thank you."

"For what?" he asked, confused.

"For everything. For understanding earlier why I was ending things, for understanding that I needed a girl to talk to now, for being here."

"No problem, Peyt. I'm always here for you, you know that right? I'll always be your friend." He smiled, and she couldn't help but return it as her heart lifted. What had she done, ever, to deserve this boy?

"Lucas, I-"

"Peyton?" Two blonde head swivelled towards the door, and their eyes widened in shock at the same time.

A/N: well? Let me know what you think and if I should keep going with it.


	2. Chapter 2: ExFriends

Disclaimer: Don't own One Tree Hill

A/N: Ok, here's the next chapter. I just want to say that I don't condone cheating, I just think that there are different situations and I definitely don't think that Peyton and Lucas held no blame. Anyway, I hope this chapter helps to show that.

Chapter 2: Ex-Friends

"Peyton?" Two blonde heads swivelled towards the door, and their eyes widened in shock at the same time.

"Brooke?" Peyton was the first to speak, and the word came out barely above a whisper. Lucas reached down and took her hand, and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"Brooke, what are you doing here?" He asked, and she bit her lip, and took a deep breath before answering.

"I was looking for Peyton. Looks like I found her, huh? And you, too. Funny that. I thought you said you broke it off with him? Cause from where I'm standing, you two looking very much together." She said, staring at their linked hands, her voice rising as she spoke.

"Brooke..." Peyton started, but she was cut off.

"No. I came looking for you to give you the benefit of the doubt, thinking maybe you were telling me the truth about you and Lucas, but now..."

"Now what, Brooke?" It was Lucas who spoke this time. "We're not together Brooke..."

"I don't want to hear this from you right now. You told me that you needed time to heal, to be alone. Well, you don't look too alone right now." She snapped at him, and he actually leaned away in shock.

"Brooke..." Peyton started again, but this time she was cut off by Haley.

"Don't, Peyton. It sounds like I was wrong. Maybe your relationship isn't as strong as I thought."

"Oh, Tutor Girl. You know, as smart as you may be, you don't know everything. And you don't know what you're talking about here. So maybe you should keep your nose out of where it doesn't belong." Nathan put his hand on Haley's shoulder, but she shrugged it off and moved towards Brooke.

"You know, I really think you should just leave now. You know that saying, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all? I think that applies to this situation, and since you clearly don't have anything nice to say to any of us, why don't you just go." There was silence in the cafe, and all eyes were on Haley as she let out a huff of breath, and crossed her arms. Peyton sent her a small smile, and she returned it before returning to glare at Brooke. Brooke looked between the four of them, then laughed, a short, disbelieving laugh.

"Fine. I'm the one who got screwed over, and lied to, but whatever. You all just sit here, feeling all high and mighty. I'm gone." And she turned and headed out, but she paused in the doorway and looked back at Peyton. "You said that I didn't deserve you letting Lucas go for me, well you know what? I don't want it. Go ahead, be happy together. You're both lying backstabbers, so you should be perfect for each other." She walked out and the door shut behind her. Three heads turned from the door at the sound of a cry, and they saw Peyton sitting there, crying. Haley raced forward, and Lucas pulled her up into a hug. Haley joined in, and even Nathan came over and gave her a pat on her back, still unsure how to act around her, or any distressed female.

A few minutes later, the tears had stopped flowing, and she was laughing at herself in embarrassment. "God, that's what? Three times in one night? You all probably think I'm some sort of psycho or something." Lucas smiled and wiped a stray tear from her cheek.

"Nah, we don't think you're a psycho. But I was considering that maybe you and Haley had switched places..." Haley hit him, and he gave them an innocent look. "What? Nathan, back me up here. Were they not acting like each other?" Nathan looked torn, but eventually he gave a small nod of his head.

"Yeah, just a little. I've known Peyton a long time, and I don't think I've ever seen her cry. But that telling off that Brooke got, that was very Peyton like. She tends to be more bitchy." Both girls glared at him, and he glared at Lucas, who shrugged.

"Just admit that for once, we're right. I really don't think it'd kill ya." The girls looked at each other, then turned back to Lucas and glared. "Or it would, apparently. Uh, not to break up the party or anything, but if I'm not back in the next 10 minutes, my mum's gonna send out a search party or something, so Peyton, are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, I'm good now. Thanks, Haley." The two girls stood and hugged, and Haley whispered something in Peyton's ear and they both smiled. Peyton headed out towards the kitchen, and Lucas' waved to Haley as he left, and he gave Nathan a small smile, which was returned. Then he followed Peyton, through the kitchen and out the back door to her car.

They were quiet on the drive home, until they were outside Lucas' house. He turned to her, a smile on his lips.

"What's on your mind, Lucas?" She asked, and he said nothing. He reached over with his good arm and brushed her cheek before he turned and got out of the car. He turned back before he shut the door, and leant in.

"So, do I get to know what Haley said to you before we left?" Her smile grew, and her eyes held a little bit of mischief in them, but she shook her head.

"Not tonight you don't. All in good time, my friend, all in good time." He shook his head and shut the door. She waited until he was inside before she put her car in drive and pulled away from the curb.

The next morning Peyton rang the doorbell of the front door at Lucas'. Karen answered, and smiled when she saw the blonde.

"Peyton, hi. Come in. Lucas is still asleep, but he should wake up soon." She said as she stepped aside to let her through.

"Thanks, but I actually came to see you." She smiled at the surprised look on Karen's face.

"Really? Ok, let's go into the kitchen." Once they were settled at the kitchen table with coffee, Peyton took a deep breath.

"Ms Roe," she paused at Karen's look, "Karen. First, I just want to say I'm sorry about what happened yesterday with Lucas. It was my fault he left. I guess I was kind of avoiding him and Brooke yesterday, so he decided to come to me instead. And I also wanted to say thank you, for letting Lucas take me to see Haley last night. I don't know what Lucas has told you about what's been going on the last few days, but it really meant a lot to me." Karen reached out and took Peyton's hand, and at that small gesture, Peyton broke down again, and Karen moved around the table and held her. A few minutes later, when the tears had stopped, Peyton looked up and started laughing at herself. "God, I must look ridiculous. And I feel horrible." She started to cry again, and Karen soothed her until she was done again.

"Now Peyton, tell me what's been going on? Would this have anything to do with Lucas breaking up with Brooke the other day?" She asked as she pulled Peyton back to study her face. She nodded.

"I messed up, Karen. And I tried to undo it, but she found out and everything got worse, and then I just got so mad and I was yelling, and then Haley yelled at her. I didn't want any of this to happen, I didn't mean to let it go this far." She had stopped crying now, but she shook her head and stood up. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be dumping all this on you, you need to look after Lucas, and I need to get to school." She headed to the kitchen door, and paused as she opened it. "Um, will you tell Lucas I'll be by to see him after school?" Karen nodded, and she left. After she was in her car, she let out huge breath she hadn't known she was holding, and put her head on the steering wheel.

Lucas woke as Peyton left, and after slowly getting dressed, he made his way out to the kitchen, where he was greeted by the sight of his mother, apparently waiting for his arrival.

"Hey, mum. Did I hear someone leaving?"

"Yes, you did. I think you better sit down, Lucas." He looked at her warily, but didn't say anything as he took a seat at the table. "Peyton stopped by to see me this morning, to thank me. She mentioned something about messing it all up, and a fight with Brooke. I think you better explain what happened."

"Uh..." He did know what to say, but after a minute, his mother's staring broke him down, and it all came out, every detail of the past 6 weeks.

Peyton pulled into the parking lot of the school, unfortunately with 15 minutes to spare, which meant that there were still plenty of people around. She scanned the front of the school, and saw, with little surprise, Brooke surrounded by the cheerleading squad. She grabbed her bag and got out of her car. She started walking towards the school, when she heard her name. She had a two second debate with herself, and turned around to face Brooke, who was standing in front of the squad, hands on hips.

"So you decided to show your face, did you? I'm surprised you didn't decide to spend the day hiding out at Lucas'." Brooke said, and Peyton could hear the scorn in her voice. She was tempted to turn away, but the part of her that had taken her to Lucas' the night before to break things off stopped her. So she decided to try one last time.

"Brooke, I told you, we're not together. And last night, at the cafe, that wasn't what you think. I never meant to hurt you Brooke, neither of us did. You're my best friend..."

"Was. I _was_ your best friend. As in, past tense." Brooke interrupted.

"Fine. You can see it that way, and maybe we'll never be best friends again, but I still want us to be friends. I never meant for any of this to happen, to let it get this far."

"Funny, you don't mention never letting it happen at all."

"You know what, if I could go back and change this, I would. But I wouldn't go back to that night at the motel, cause even if it hadn't happened then, I think it would've happened. It might suck, but it's the truth. No, if I could go back, I'd go back to that night at Nathan's, when I ran from Lucas." Brooke stared at her, wide eyed, in shock at this admission, and even Peyton was shocked. "Brooke, I know it probably won't mean much, but I'm sorry. I really am. You don't deserve any of this." And then she turned and walked away.

Karen and Lucas had been sitting in silence for a good 5 minutes before Karen spoke.

"I just... why would you start a relationship with Brooke if you really wanted to be with Peyton?" she asked finally, and he looked up, startled by the question.

"I... I don't know. I thought that I didn't want to deal with all the drama that came with Peyton, and she'd turned me down, and Brooke was so much fun, and there was no drama. I thought I would forget about wanting to be with Peyton. But then... I messed up, I know I did. But I don't know how to fix it."

"I don't think this is something that will be easily fixed, Lucas. It's going to take time, especially Brooke. She was hurt by two people she cares deeply for, and it's hard enough to be hurt by o ne person you care about, let alone two. I think she'll come around eventually. Her heart's too big, and despite what's happened, I think she still cares for you. She actually stopped by here looking for you or Peyton last night, I guess before she went to the cafe, and I could see that she didn't want to lose you. Now, it clearly didn't go very well, but the fact that she went looking is a good sign. I think she still hadn't gotten over the shock when she saw you together."

"What do you think I should do? I mean, I don't know if Peyton's going to talk to me, or how we stand. But I don't want to hurt Brooke more."

"Well, like some of the best things in life, it's going to take time, and effort."

"Peyton, wait up." Peyton slowed and turned her head towards the voice, and saw Haley walking after her. She slowed down completely until Haley was beside her. Then they walked into the school together.

"So, I heard you guys."

"It was so quiet, I think everyone in the school heard. And now the entire school knows I screwed my best friend, sorry, ex best friend, over."

"Peyton..."

"No, it's ok. I deserve it. I just hope we can work this out sometime."

"I think you will. Maybe, just give her some time to cool off."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." They walked in silence until Peyton stopped and turned to Haley. "I have a question for you."

"Ok, shoot."

"Well, as inappropriate as this might seem at this particular point in time, what do you think I should do about Lucas? I mean, I'm not sure where I stand with him." Haley actually laughed, and Peyton looked confused. "What?"

"You honestly don't know where you stand? Peyton, he's not getting over you any time soon, trust me. Don't forget what I told you last night."

"So what should I do? I mean, jumping into a relationship doesn't seem like an answer, especially since I told Brooke we're not together, and I broke up with him last night."

"Just wait and see what happens. Trust me, what's meant to be will be. But can I give you bit of advice? Don't push him away, and don't shut him out." Peyton smiled.

"Yeah, I don't think I need any more ex-friends." They both smiled, and despite the situation, they laughed all the way to class.

A/N: Ok, so let me know what you thought. And please be honest, I won't get offended... probably. Tell me what needs fixing, or what works/doesn't work.


	3. Chapter 3: What Now?

Disclaimer: I want to own Chad, unfortunately I don't, and I don't own the show either

A/N: Ok, here's the next chapter... I'm unsure about this one, but here it is cause I can't figure out what else I wanna do with it, so hopefully it's ok.

Chapter 3: What Now?

Lucas was lying on his bed, using his good arm to throw a small rubber basketball up and down as he thought. He'd been thinking since that morning, and his conversation with his mum. He'd like to be able to say he didn't know where it had all gone wrong, but he did; he had jumped into a relationship with Brooke to try and forget the pain on Peyton's rejection. Well, that's where it had started to go wrong. After that, he'd stayed in the relationship when he knew he was still hung up on Peyton. No, not hung up. He was in love with her. In the solitariness of his bedroom, he was able to admit that. And, he could also admit here, that he'd used that to justify his actions, at least to himself. And he'd cheated. He'd tried to justify it, reason with himself, call it something else; but in the end, he'd cheated. He'd done the one thing he'd never wanted to do, to anyone. And once he was able to admit that, he was able to realise that what he wanted most, besides Peyton, was that Brooke could forgive Peyton. He wanted her to be able to forgive him too, but her forgiving Peyton was more important, simply because it was important to Peyton.

And that's how Peyton found him, half an hour later; lying on his bed, ball going up and down, lost in thought.

"Hey," she said, and he turned his head quickly, and forgot about the ball until it hit him in the head.

"Oh," he said as the ball bounced off his head and landed beside his face. As Peyton started laughing softly, he glared at the ball before looking back up at her. They looked at each other, and her laughter trailed off.

"Is this ok?" he barely heard her words, they were so soft, but he did, and he smiled sadly.

"I think that we need this, whatever this is." She was a little stunned by the simplicity of his words, and the lack of them.

"Yeah. Look, I should probably warn you that..."

"You had a run in with Brooke this morning, and most of the school now knows what happened?" he finished for her, and again she was stunned, although this time by his knowledge of this morning's events.

"How... Haley?" she asked, and he smiled as he shook his head. He was sitting up by this stage, and he motioned for her to come sit on his bed.

"Actually," he said once she was settled on the end of his bed, "it was Jake. He went home at lunch to check on Jenny, and he stopped by to see me. Filled me in on what was, according to him, a disappointing showdown." They caught each other's eyes and started laughing.

"It really wasn't like that. It was just... sort of a repeat of last night, I guess." Lucas nodded, and they fell into a comfortable silence, each in their own thoughts.

"Peyton...," Lucas started, but then he seemed to decide against it. But Peyton decided it might be important, so she prodded his leg until he looked up at her.

"Yeah?" he took a deep breath.

"I'm going to go see Brooke." When she started to speak, he cut her off, adding "not today, in a few days. I want to fix this, but I don't think another trip to the hospital is something I want to experience for a while."

"Yeah, she's handling this in true Brooke fashion. She'll cool down in a few days, once she's past the anger stage. But I think it's the next stage I'm more worried about."

"What's the next stage?" he asked hesitantly, and when she looked at him, he saw concern and the smallest hint of fear in her eyes.

"This is fire Brooke, full of anger. Next comes ice Brooke, full of hate." And he understood, and he saw the pain in her eyes. He took her hand, a small gesture but one she appreciated, and one he needed to give. They sat like that for a few minutes, and then a thought occurred to Peyton.

"So, when will Tree Hill High be graced with your presence again?"

"Uh, the doctor said that I needed at least 3 more days of solid resting, and then he'd see how I was going. So hopefully a week or so."

"If you're a good boy?"

"Yep."

"Huh. Good to know. Look, I better get going, my dad's getting back tonight, so..."

"Yeah. Uh, say hi to Larry for me."

"Sure. I'll see you tomorrow?" He tried to hide his smile at her hesitancy.

"Sure. I'm here all day."

"Bye."

"Bye." And then she was done. An hour or so later, his mum called from the cafe and said that since they were busy, she was staying to help Haley, so she gave him permission to leave the house and come to the cafe for dinner.

When he came through the door, the first thing he saw was the blonde curls in the corner, laughing with the older man. He didn't say anything, but he smiled at the sight of Peyton and her father. Then he turned and headed to the counter, where he sat under the watchful eye of his mother.

Two days later, the school week was over and Peyton was looking forward to the weekend. The past two days definitely ranked up in her top ten worst days. The whole school seemed to know about what had happened, and since most people in the school loved Brooke, they now seemed to hate her.

The only good thing about the past two days was the times she'd spent with Lucas, and Haley. She'd been to see Lucas the previous afternoon, and had spent nearly two hours with him, a lot of it spent with them just sitting, drawing or reading. But it had been nice. And today he was going to talk to Brooke. He had told her yesterday that he wanted to do it before the weekend, and she knew that at this moment, he would be sitting on Brooke's front porch, waiting for her to come home, and it scared her. But there was nothing she could do now, but wait to hear from Lucas.

Brooke pulled up into her driveway, and hopped out of her car, but she stopped in the middle of the path up to the front door when she saw the boy sitting in the rocking chair on her front porch. At first she was saddened by the sight, and then it made her angry. He was here, at her house! She marched up the path, in full force.

"Oh no you don't! You can't just show up here after days of silence, especially with what happened..." She trailed off when she realised that he was asleep. Or had been asleep until she started ranting. Now he was blinking away, and looked at her, confused until he remembered where he was.

"Brooke. Hi. Ok, I didn't catch what you said, but please just let me say this and then you can do whatever you want. Yell, kick me out, ignore me completely. But please, just let me get this out." He held his breath as he waited for her answer, and although her reaction was to say no, she paused with the word on her tongue. A part of her was curious to see what he came up with, and a part of her needed to hear him say sorry, to believe he wasn't like all the other boys.

"Fine, but make it quick, I don't have all day." She crossed her arms, and looked pointedly at him. He looked around, and cleared his throat.

"Uh, I guess first I want to say how sorry I am. And not about what happened with Peyton, I mean, yes, about that too, but more about what happened before. With us. You are great Brooke, and trust me, any guy would be lucky to have you. But I was using you, and I'm sorry. I wasn't using for sex, but I was using you to forget. I had fun with you Brooke, but..."

"You just didn't love me."

"I'm sorry, Brooke..."

"Don't. Just don't. You'd think after all these years, it shouldn't come as a surprise to me that I was being used by a guy. You'd think I'd learn, but I just keep setting myself up to get hurt." She didn't give Lucas a chance to defend himself as she stormed passed him and into her house. He stood still as he heard the door slam shut behind him. It seemed like fire Brooke was on her way out, and ice Brooke was coming in. And now, it seemed like it would be a waiting game.

Brooke stormed up the stairs of her house, and as she moved around her bedroom, loud crashes and bangs could be heard. She didn't know whether to scream or cry, so she did both, and then she flopped onto her large bed.

She wanted so much to hate both of them, and a part of her did. But unfortunately, it was only a small part. She could understand why Peyton would be attracted to Lucas, want to be near him. And she understood the need to try and understand Peyton, to get behind her walls.

But that small part hated them for lying to her. For wanting all those things, and wanting, needing each other more than either of them wanted or needed her. That same, small part of her wanted to see them suffer, to see them not be together, or to be together and fail. And despite how small it was, that part took over, the part that hated. She was going to learn from this, and she wasn't going to let them win.

Haley sat in her bedroom, working on her calculus, when she heard a knock on her door. She looked up and was surprised to see Peyton there.

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I just thought I'd stop by, see how you were doing..." she trailed off at the look Haley gave her.

"Would this have anything to do with Lucas going to see a certain brunette today?" Haley asked, moving over on her bed and patting the space beside her. Peyton sat, and nodded.

"I'm just worried about him. I mean, I know Brooke won't physically hurt him, but what if she lashes out, he's still recovering, and her words can hurt."

"I'm not gonna tell you not to worry, but Lucas can handle himself. He'll be ok, you all will."

"I'm not so sure. Look, thanks for this, but I told Lucas I'd go see him after he was done." She stood, and walked to the door.

"See ya" Haley said, and Peyton paused and smiled back at her.

"Yeah."

"So, Lucas was your Saturday?" Haley asked, as she bounced into his room bright and early Sunday morning. He buried his head under his pillow and made a grunt-like noise, which led her to reach over, pluck the pillow of his head and pull down his doona. "Come on, wakey wakey, rise and shine."

He rolled over, and opened one eye to look at her. She smiled down at him, and he opened his other eye and glared at her.

"It's," he turned his head to read his clock, "7:15 in the morning."

"I know."

"It's Sunday."

"Yes, it is."

"What are you doing here?" She was perched on the end of his bed now.

"Well, I managed to get permission from your mother to take you down to the rivercourt for half an hour. But I have homework and I'm working at the cafe this afternoon, so if you wanna get out of this house, it's now or never, take it or leave it." She grinned as she watched him debating it. Finally he sat up fully and swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

"I'll be back in five minutes." Was all he said before he picked up some clothes and moved out of his room and down the hall.

15 minutes later they sat at the rivercourt, side by side, in silence...

After another excruciatingly boring week at home, Lucas was deemed fit to return to school. So here he was, standing next to Haley and Peyton outside Tree Hill High.

"So, today's the big day, huh? Ready to face the music?" Haley looked up at him, and he lightly punched her shoulder.

"Hey, don't abuse my girlfriend" Nathan's voice came from behind them, and they all turned. Haley reached up on her toes and kissed him. Lucas and Peyton looked at each other, and Lucas rolled his eyes, and they laughed.

"Right, well this has been fun, but I have a tutoring session, and you have class. See you at lunch?" Lucas and Peyton nodded, and Haley and Nathan headed off together.

"Shall we?" Peyton said, and Lucas nodded, and they headed off to class.

Lucas and Peyton were walking down the corridor to class, and Lucas couldn't help but notice the looks the girls were giving him, and some of the guys, although their looks were very different. Peyton, however, was ignoring, since she was used to it from the previous week. But she felt a little more comfortable knowing Lucas was with her.

They brushed off the whispers they could hear, ignored the disgusted looks being thrown at them by the girls, although Peyton was very tempted to stop and give one girl a piece of her mind when she overheard her say to her friend, "What a skank; first she sleeps with her best friend's boyfriend, and steals him, and now she's parading around with him, flaunting it." But she felt Lucas' hand brush hers lightly, and give her fingers a gentle squeeze, so she brushed it off.

But both of them felt the stab in their hearts when they walked past Brooke at her locker, and she made no sign that she even noticed them. Even when she was looking in their direction, she looked straight through them and then walked right by them. Ice Brooke was officially in the building.

Lucas put his arm around Peyton's shoulder and they moved on, towards their classroom.

"I just... I guess I wasn't ready for this part. I've seen her like this, a couple of times, but it's never been this bad, and it's never been directed at me."

"I know how much I hate fighting with Haley, but we've never had fights this bad, except when she told me she was into Nathan, but I understand. But she'll come around, Peyton. You're her best friend, and that still counts for something."

"Yeah," she smiled, and he hugged her to him. "So, what now?" He looked down, and gave her a smile.

"Now, we get to English before we're late. And we give Brooke time and space, and hope that she'll come around, sooner rather than later."

A/N: So?? Please let me know what you think about the writing/story etc.


	4. Chapter 4: New Beginnings

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill. If I did, I'd be playing it in Australia as well

A/N: Ok, here's the next one. Sorry it's been a while. Enjoy.

Chapter 4: New Beginnings

A few days later, Lucas had settled back into school, and like Peyton, was now used to the whispers as he walked down the corridors. But, he was happy to notice, they were starting to die down; it didn't happen as often now. Like today; he'd had a good morning, without a single whisper to be heard. And he was happy because he and Peyton were going really well. She hadn't shied away from him like he'd thought she would, so that was a very good sign. He was simply biding his time now, waiting for everything to completely die down before he made his move.

He came out of the building, heading towards the table where he, Nathan, Haley and Peyton usually had lunch now. Nathan was already there, he saw, and he could see Haley coming from the other side of the open area. He sat down at the table.

'Hey Nate.'

'Well you're in a good mood today.'

'So it would seem.' They smiled as Haley took the seat next to Nathan. She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss.

'Hey you. Lucas. Where's Peyton?'

'She should be here soon.' He turned and looked, and spotted her coming out of the same building he'd just exited. 'Here she comes now.' He watched her walking towards them, and she was watching him, so neither of them noticed the brunette heading her way until she'd walked into her.

'Oh, sorry... Brooke. I...' She trailed off when Brooke just kept walking like nothing had happened. The three at the table watched the exchange, or lack thereof, and watched Peyton finish making her way to the table. She sat next to Lucas, and he reached out to put an arm around her shoulder, but she shrugged it off.

'Peyton...'

'Don't, Lucas.'

'Peyt...' He stopped when she stood up.

'I'm gonna go.' Was all she said before she turned and walked away. Nathan and Haley shared a look as Lucas stared after Peyton for a few seconds before he too stood, and followed after her. He caught up with her, and put his hand on her arm to sop her. She whirled around, and he could see the anger and hurt in her eyes.

'What? What do you want Luke? Are you gonna tell me it's all ok? That she'll come around? Just give her some space? It's so easy for you to say those things to me. You had it so easy in all this. I hurt my best friend, Luke? Do you know what that feels like? I betrayed her! And then I was a bitch to her. You have no idea what that's like, so don't even try and tell me it's all ok, and that you understand, cause you don't. You had it so easy in this; all you had to do was choose between two willing girls. What'd you have to lose? Nothing!' He stood there throughout her whole outburst, shocked, and growing angry. Her last comment really got to him, and in a rare moment, he lost his cool.

'You think this has been easy for me, Peyton? Nothing about this has been easy for me. God, you have no idea how long I have wanted to be with you, having to watch you with Nathan, then you rejected me, so I turned to Brooke. She was so sweet, and funny, and at least I could still be friends with you. I never wanted to hurt Brooke, and I know it's more important to you because of your history, but do you know how bad I feel knowing I'm the one who cause all this? And that because of this I could lose both of? And you know that's not even the worst thing.' His voice fell a bit at this, and the people listening had to strain to hear him. 'The worst thing is that this made me like Dan. He was a cheater, he never cared about who he hurt. And I never wanted to be like him. Never. So tell me again that I don't know, or that I had nothing to lose.' She was shocked by his outburst; it was so unlike him to rant like that. She was still standing in shock when he turned and walked away. She snapped out of it and followed him.

'Luke! LUCAS!' he whirled back around, and the words she was about to say stuck in her throat. This was a side of him she'd never seen before.

'What Peyton?' He yelled at her, then he sighed and ran a hand through his, hair. 'What do you want?' he asked, his voice soft and sounding defeated.

She didn't say anything, she just leant up and kissed him. He was stunned, and he didn't react for almost five seconds, as his brain took that long to switch gears, but then he was kissing her back, his arms coming around her, pulling her closer. They pulled apart, and they were both breathless. He looked down at her, his brows slightly down, and she smiled into his confused eyes.

'I'm sorry. I didn't mean it, it just sort of came out and...' she was cut off by his lips, and had no trouble responding. When he pulled back, he was smiling at her.

'You were saying something?' She smiled back.

'Never mind.' She whispered before she pulled his head back down.

A few minutes later, the pair rejoined Haley and Nathan at their table, and the two brunettes shared a looked at the blondes' linked hands. Nathan smirked, but said nothing. Haley, on the other hand, took a different approach.

'Finally. Could you two have taken any longer?' She asked, and got a glare from Lucas for her efforts. 'I'm just saying.'

'Yeah, thanks for the input Hales. So, you coming up to the Classic this weekend?' He asked, and she looked at him before she nodded.

'Yeah, I guess, sure.' Nathan snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

'You and me in the same hotel? This weekend just got interesting.' She laughed, and shoved him lightly.

'Down boy. In your dreams.' She told him, before looking back at Peyton. 'So, these boys are probably gonna be obsessing about the game the whole time, I guess you're stuck with me.'

'Well if you don't mind watching us practice all day. Brooke can be a bit of a Nazi around sparkle classic time.'

'Sounds like fun. Well, at least you'll have me for back up. I swear. And if a catfight breaks out, I got your back.'

'Sounds... good?' The four friends laughed, and continued bantering, unaware of Brooke standing near the building, watching them.

When the bell rang, the four stood up, and collected their bags.

'Hey Luke, we've got history, walk me to class?' Haley asked with a big smile. He looked at her warily, then looked at Peyton.

'I've got PE, other side of the school. I'll see you after school?' He nodded, and bent down to kiss her.

'Sure. I'll meet you at your car?' She nodded, and kissed him as Haley took his arm and dragged him off. He gave Peyton a slightly scared look before he turned to look where he was going.

'So, where you headed?' Peyton asked Nathan, and he thought for a second.

'Calculus.' He said with a face. She beamed at him.

'Great, you're heading my way. Let's go.' She said and she held out her arm for him, and they headed off to class as well.

'So, Lucas, you and Peyton seemed to have worked things out, finally might I add.' She said as she laughed and nudged him sideways. He nudged her back before he answered.

'Yeah, _finally_.' He said, imitating her voice.

'Seriously, though, I'm happy for you guys. You deserve it, both of you. And between you and me, I didn't really see you and Brooke as a long term thing.' He raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. 'What, you two just didn't seem to click like you and Peyton.'

'Click?' he questioned.

'Yeah, click. You know. Oh whatever, you're just being difficult now.' He smiled and pulled her closer into a hug as they walked. 'So, speaking of working things out, you and Nathan seem to be getting along better. You two have been talking, and you were speaking to each other when I got to the table. I'm proud of you two.'

'For speaking? Cause I gotta tell you Hales, I've been doing that for years, if you remember.' She elbowed him lightly.

'You know what I mean. A month ago you would barely look at each other, and you only spoke when you were forced to. Now you're talking when there's no one else around to prompt you. It's good, seeing you two getting along.'

'Yeah, well, I think we have you to thank for that.'

'What?'

'Well, if you weren't dating him, Nathan would still be a jerk and we still wouldn't be talking. It's actually kinda simple.'

'Shut up.'

'So, you and Lucas huh?'

'So it would seem.' She answered with a smile.

'God, I haven't seen you smile like that in so long. Definitely didn't see you smile like that when we were together.'

'Yeah, but we were horrible together, and you know it.'

'Yeah, I was kinda a dick, wasn't I?'

'Kinda?' she asked, eyebrow raised in questioned, and he grinned.

'Ok, really a dick. But you know, you were so moody, I never knew what you were gonna do.'

She nodded her head in consent, and smiled. 'I guess we've both changed a lot.'

'Yeah, and all cause Whitey decided to put Lucas on the team. Can you imagine if he hadn't?'

'God, we'd probably still be breaking up and getting back together every few days. You'd still be a dick.'

'And you'd still be a bitch.' Nathan said with a laugh, and Peyton shoved him so hard that he fell sideways a bit. 'Hey!'

'You deserved it.'

'Whatever. We're gonna be late. See ya.'

That night, Peyton found Lucas down at the rivercourt, sitting with a ball in his hand.

'So, classic this weekend, huh?'

'Should be interesting. I'm glad Haley's coming. Now I'll have someone to keep me company during the game.'

She sat down next to him, and he put his good arm around her. 'I'm actually looking forward to this. I wasn't a week ago, but now I am. I'm hoping I can bribe Whitey to assign me and Haley to a room together.' He laughed, and kissed her. She was smiling when they pulled apart.

'All room assignments are final. No changing.' Lucas looked around, and saw his room. He stopped short when Nathan headed to the same room. They looked at each other, then back at Whitey, who just grinned at them. 'Alphabetical. Scott, Scott.' They looked at each other again, and Lucas rolled his eyes before he walked through the open doorway.

'Man, Whitey's evil, you know that?' Nathan said from behind him, and Lucas laughed as he threw his bag on the far bed, and turned back to his younger brother.

'Yeah, he can be sadistic sometimes. What are you gonna do?' Nathan threw him a look as he leant over his bag.

'Sometimes, I swear I wanna knock him out or something. Or lock him up.' Lucas laughed and shook his head.

'Good luck with that.' Nathan smiled at him, and they both turned at the knock on the door joining theirs to the room next to them. Nathan walked over and answered it, and grinned when he saw Haley.

'Booty call already? It's kinda early, don't you think?' Lucas turned back from his bag when Nathan said this, and looked confused until Haley shoved Nathan, and Lucas saw it was her.

'Hey, Hales.'

'Hey Luke. So, in a surprising turn of events, Peyton and I have a room together.' She said, stepping aside to reveal Peyton behind her. 'And, apparently, we have adjoining rooms.' Peyton looked up, surprised to see Nathan and Lucas through the doorway. Then she smiled, looking at the three people in front of her.

'Well, this weekend just got interesting.' She said, and all four of them laughed. Lucas and Peyton were looking at each other, as were Nathan and Haley, so when Lucas and Haley caught each other's eyes, they nodded to each other, then moved. Haley into the boys' room, and Lucas through the doors into the girls' room, closing the doors behind him.

'So, adjoining rooms, huh?' Lucas said as he took Peyton's hands.

'Uh huh.

'Do you think Whitey's realised it yet?'

'I'd say not, otherwise he'd probably be in here right now, yelling at us to get away from each other.'

'Mm... you're probably right. I guess we should be thankful he hasn't figured it out. Especially considering if he was yelling, the chaperones would probably come, and considering our parents are the chaperones...'

'It's a very good thing he's not in here.' He nodded his head as he leant down to kiss her. Their lips had barely met when someone knocked on the door. 'Damn.' They broke apart, and Peyton went to answer the door, but luckily, she looked through the peephole first. She looked back at Lucas. 'It's your mum.' She whispered, and he almost panicked.

'Wait.' He moved to the door, and opened it, and then his and Nathan's. He didn't even have time to acknowledge the sight of the two of them making out. 'Hales, get back into your room now. Go.' She took in the urgency in his voice, and didn't ask questions, she just hopped off the bed and raced into her room. She and Lucas closed the two doors at the same time, and Peyton opened their door.

'Hey, Ms Scott.' Karen smiled.

'Please, call me Karen. Oh, hi Haley. You two settling in alright?'

'Yeah, it's great Karen. Oh, do you have any idea how we managed to get put in a room together? Cause I would've thought Peyton would be with the other cheerleaders, since I'm not actually part of the team or anything.' Karen smiled knowingly at them, and Peyton looked at.

'You?'

'Maybe. I happened to be looking at Whitey's list and noticed he'd put Haley by herself, and you in a room with Brooke. I didn't think that would be a very good idea, so I suggested he put you in with Haley.' She shrugged, but the next second she was being hugged by Peyton.

'Thankyou Karen.' She whispered, and Karen smiled.

'It's alright. But, I do come bearing bad news. One of the cheerleaders, Theresa, has chickenpox, and Brooke is downstairs freaking out because her routine won't work.' Suddenly, Bevin appeared behind Karen.

'Peyton, you have to get downstairs right now before Brooke kills someone.'

'Right, cause if Brooke's in a shitty mood right now, I'm exactly the person she's gonna wanna see.'

'Haley.' They all looked at Bevin, then Karen and Peyton looked at Haley.

'That's right, I'm Haley.' Bevin laughed and shook her head.

'Yeah. And you're a girl.'

'Once again, you are correct.' Finally, Peyton clued in and started laughing.

'You want Haley to fill in for Theresa?'

'It's totally perfect, the routine needs ten girls, and we have a girl right here. I'm gonna go tell Brooke.' Before they could say anything, she was bounding off to the elevators. Peyton looked at Haley and tried to smile, but she couldn't get it out. Karen spoke first.

'Looks like you'll be part of the team after all.'

After Brooke's initial reaction to reject Haley, simply because she was Lucas and Peyton's friend, she agreed to it because they needed the girl, but she spent half the night abusing the two girls, even after Peyton came through with music after Mouth told them their song was being used by other teams.

Early the next morning, only three hours before the competition, Haley and Peyton crawled into bed. From their positions where they'd flopped on the bed, they shot each other a look before they fell asleep.

Three hours later, Lucas came through the connecting doors to find them in the same positions. Haley was still in the cheerleading outfit she'd been trying on the night before, and he raised an eyebrow at the sight, before he crept forward to wake her up.

'Hales, wake up. Haley.' She mumbled something and rolled her head away from him. 'Haley, pop quiz!' He said louder, and she shot up, looking around. When she found him, she glared and he stepped away, hands in the air. 'Hey, I'm just doing you a favour. The competition's in less than half an hour, and neither of you were up. By the way, what's with the outfit?'

'She's filling in for Theresa.' Peyton's voice said from behind him, and he turned to find her glaring up at him. He rolled his eyes.

'Well, you'd both better get moving, cause Brooke's making her way down the hall waking everyone up.' Peyton rolled her eyes and sat up.

'Alright, I'm up. You'd better get out of here before she gets here.' He smiled, leant down to kiss her, and then he left, closing the door behind him. The two girls were about to flop back down when loud banging came from the main door. They looked at each other and said 'Brooke.'

Late that afternoon, the bus pulled back in to Tree Hill High. Lucas and Peyton stepped off the bus, and they headed to her car. After they had finished loading it, they looked around and were surprised to see their parents at Karen's car.

'Oh god, is my dad flirting with your mum?'

'Only in Tree Hill.' They looked at each other, and laughed.

'So, it's the Boy Toy auction in a couple of days.' She said slyly, and he looked at her and nodded.

'So it is. Who're you thinking about bidding on?'

'You know, I was thinking about Tim.' She said, and he managed to hold back his scoff and raise an eyebrow at her.

'Tim? Really? Interesting choice. I had you pegged as more of a Jagelski girl myself.' She hit him, just as their parents came up.

'You know Mr Sawyer, I'm just wondering where Peyton learned to hit so hard.' He smiled softly, and looked at his daughter.

'She got that from her mother.'

'Lucky me.' With their parents laughed, Peyton looked up at him and smiled.

'Well Lucas, we'd better get going.' He nodded, then leant down and gave Peyton a quick kiss.

'Pick me up tomorrow?' She nodded, then he left.

'Well, I must say Peyton, that smile looks good on you. It's been a while.'

'Yeah, it has.'

'Well let's go home.'

A/N: What'd you think? Let me know. Next chapter might be a while, cause school starts again on Tuesday, but I'll try and keep up.


	5. Chapter 5: Memories, test and lies

Disclaimer: Don't own anything of importance, so I definitely don't own One Tree Hill

A/N: Ok, so here's the next chapter!! Yay!! I suddenly got a wave of inspiration the other day, and here it is. I'm working on the next chapter too, so look out for it in the next week hopefully.

Chapter 5: Memories, tests and lies

'Do I hear 30 dollars? 30 dollars over there, do I hear 35?' Whitey's voice boomed through the microphone as one of the basketball players strutted around the stage.

'40!' A girl called out from the back, and Whitey smiled.

'Do I hear 50? Come on, it's for charity.'

'50!' Another woman called out, and the first one glared at her.

'55!' Whitey looked around the room.

'I have 55. Going once, going twice... sold for 55 dollars. Pay your money and get your boy.' Haley and Peyton were standing near the side of the stage, and they smiled at each other as the boy left the stage.

'Who's up next?' They both looked at their programs, then quickly up at each other.

'Tim,' they said in unison, groaning, just as Tim cam through the curtains. He took off his jacket, and after swinging it around in the air, threw it into the crowd. Then he turned and shook his but at the crowd, causing everyone to shy away and cover their eyes. Peyton and Haley caught each other's eyes and laughed when the room was silent in response to Whitey's opening bid. Tim seemed to be oblivious to the fact that no one was bidding on him. After a minute, they heard someone say '8 dollars?' and saw Deb holding up a few notes, laughing.

Backstage, Nathan and Lucas were talking, waiting for their turn to go on. They were both sure of who was going to get them, but little did they know that their girlfriends had already decided to swap, and spend time with their friends. A few minutes later, Jake came out, still half dressed in the Raven's mascot outfit, and Lucas shook his head, laughing.

'You dirty bird.' He said, and they all laughed. 'Who bought you?' Jake shrugged.

'I don't know, but it'll be fun. It's for charity, right? Now get out there.' Lucas walked through the gap in the curtains, his hands stuffed in his pockets as Whitey announced him. He heard the cheering and smiled nervously. He came forward, looking around and spotted Haley and Peyton at the front of the stage, and grinned at Peyton.

'Alright, let's start the bid at 20 dollars.'

'25'

'35'

'50'

'75' He had pulled his hands out of his pockets by now, and was doing weird robot movements, while Peyton watched and shook her head, laughing.

'100' When some called that out, she looked nervously at Haley, who threw her a smile, before she turned to call to White.

'105. 110. Oh what the hell, 115.'

'Sold!' Both Lucas and Peyton looked at Haley and she shrugged, and after Lucas had turned to leave, she turned to Peyton and said 'Cafe savings, no way he's worth it though.' She laughed at Peyton's raised eyebrow, 'ok, so he's worth it to keep these other girls off him. Oh, here comes Nathan, got your money ready?' Peyton nodded as Nathan came through the curtains. He handed his glasses to Mouth, before he came forward and ripped off his pants, revealing his shorts.

'80'

'Wow.' Peyton commented as he opened his shirt, and she had to laugh when she saw _boytoy_ written across his chest, but when she looked at Haley, she noticed she wasn't laughing.

'85'

'90'

'Bid, Peyton!'

'Oh, 92'

'95' She saw Haley rummaging around in her purse, and then bid all her money.

'95.53' There was a slight pause, as Peyton glared at the other bidder across the room, who was also looking for money, and unfortunately she seemed to find some, as Haley continued looking.

'104... and 40.' The other girl said, just as Haley looked up, looking happy.

'My emergency twenty... bid it.

'Uh, 112.53'

'Ha!' Haley couldn't resist at the annoyed look on the other girls' faces.

'Sold! Well ladies, that's the last boy for the night, just take your money to the desk and collect your boy. And remember, these boys belong to the highest bidder until their midnight kiss. Let's try and keep things legal this year.' The girls started to clear out, and Mouth packed up the sound equipment. Whitey left the stage, and the room was almost empty when Brooke came running back in, waving cash, looking disappointed.

Outside, Haley and Peyton caught up with Nathan and Lucas, who were still confused at being bid on by the other's girlfriend.

'Hey Hales, Peyt. What's up with you guys not bidding on your boyfriends?'

'Yeah, did you decide to swap for the night without telling us?' Nathan asked cheekily, earning him a slap on each arm from each girl. 'Sorry,' he said, putting his hands up in defence.

'No, we just decided it's been a while sing Lucas and I've hung out, and you and Peyton. And since we get you guys all the time, we decided to swap.

'Plus, this is safer than letting someone else buy either of you.' Peyton added.

'Safer?' Lucas asked wearily, and they nodded.

'This way, we know exactly who you're with, and I know nothing'll happen with you and Haley, cause you're like brother and sister, and you both know nothing'll ever happen between Nathan and I again, cause I'm not doing that again and, yeah.'

'Hey, I wasn't that bad.' Nathan defended himself, but sighed at the looks they all gave him.

'Nathan, before Haley, you were almost the devil incarnate.'

'Almost?' Lucas questioned, and Peyton gave him a look.

'Well, I think that title is specifically saved for a certain father of yours.' He nodded in understanding, and the two brothers shared a look of understanding, before Nathan broke the silence, and held out his hand.

'Well, have fun with Haley, and just keep your hands off my girl.' He warned jokingly as they briefly shook hands.

'Hey, I could say the same to you, and you've got no problem with us. Peyton was right, it'd be like kissing my sister,' he said, grimacing slightly.

'Alright, enough talking, time for the fun to begin. Come, Lucas.' Haley commanded, holding out her arm for him to take. They were walking away when Haley stopped and looked back. 'Hey, we'll meet you back at your place at midnight, ok?' She called, and Nathan nodded.

'So, you've brought me up to the rooftop to, what? Murder me?' Lucas asked once he and Haley were standing on the roof of his mother's cafe. She laughed at him.

'No, that comes later, obviously. It's too open up here.' He mocked a shock face, and she shook her head. 'Actually...' she gestured behind her as she stepped aside, and Lucas saw row after row of water balloons. They grinned.

'So, this is your apartment, huh?' Peyton asked looking around. 'Did ya decorate it yourself?' She asked sarcastically, gesturing to the plastic and ladders scattered through the living room. He followed her look, and laughed.

'The painters must have left it.'

'So... where are we supposed to eat?' she asked, following him down the short corridor, and saw him sit on a bed.

'We've got the bed don't we?' He gave her an impish sort of smile, and she frowned at him.

'You want me to eat on the bed?' He looked up at her, the look on his face saying, yeah, but she shook her head and turned and left the room. Remembering how temperamental she could be, he sighed, picked up the food and followed her into the living room. Once they were settled in and eating, he decided to ask.

'So, wanna tell me what that was about?'

'What what was about?' She asked, feigning ignorance.

'The whole not eating on the bed thing, Peyton.'

'Oh, nothing. Your bed just didn't look comfortable.' When he gave her a look, she sighed. 'Fine, it just seemed to... I dunno, intimate or something. You should be eating on your bed with Haley, not me.' He seemed to process it, then he nodded.

'Ok.' She stared at him incredulously as he started eating again. She threw her fork into the tub in front of her, and he looked up, one eyebrow raised. 'What?'

'Ok?' She asked, incredulity coating her voice.

'Yeah, so what?'

'Nothing, just... who the hell are you and what've you done with Nathan Scott?' She demanded, and he laughed.

'Maybe you should ask Haley that question.' She smiled, this statement making her think of Lucas. 'Maybe I should be asking you who you are and what you've done with Peyton Sawyer.' He said, bringing her out of her reverie.

'What do you mean?'

'You're smiling.' He said it so simply and matter-of-factly that she was stunned for a second, before recovering.

'Yeah?'

'Peyton, how many times did you smile when we were together? How many times, for that matter, did I agree to something you did when we were together?' She thought for a second, and then conceded, nodding. 'See? Haley did that for me, and Lucas did that for you.' They both resumed eating, but after a minute, Peyton nudged his shoulder with hers.

'When did you get so wise?'

'I didn't. I'm dating my tutor, remember? She's the best cheat sheet.'

'Oh, you are SO dead Lucas Scott.' She threatened from behind a plant.

'You gotta catch me first Haley James.' He called from the other side of the roof and his own hiding spot. He still had a stash of balloons next to him; he was just waiting for the perfect moment. He peeked his head up and saw her moving from her spot, and took aim. Unfortunately, while he managed to get her with one of his shots, she managed to get him too.

'Ha! Gotcha! Take that... oh!' while she was in the middle of doing what could barely pass for a happy dance, he hit her dead on with one of the milk filled balloons. 'Oh you little...' she let the insult hang as she rushed towards him, her final balloon in hand. He stood his ground, a balloon in each hand, waiting for her to come. She was a metre away when she launched it at him, but she kept moving, and she collided into him, sending them both to the ground, his balloons breaking either side of him, soaking them both. He hit the ground, an 'oomf' sort of sound escaping his lips, while Haley landing on top of him, her fall broken. She looked up to see him glaring up at her, and she couldn't help but start laughing. Soon they were both laughing, and after he rolled her of him, they were lying side by side, watching the sky.

'This was a really good idea Hales, I mean it. It's been too long.'

'I know. I just wanted to do this... and I can't do it with Nathan, or I don't feel like I can. It just... I don't, does it feel childish?' She asked, and laughed.

'Yeah... but in a good way. It nice to remember when everything was simpler. When it was just you and me.' She looked over at him, saw the look on his face, and recognised it as one she herself got often.

'Yeah, but if it was still the same, you wouldn't have Peyton, and I wouldn't have Nathan.' There was a silence between the two friends, as they thought about the two in question, before Lucas broke it.

'Yeah, and Nathan'd still be an ass.' Haley smacked him lightly.

'Hey! Besides, if Nathan was still an ass, Peyton'd still be a reclusive emo cheerleader girl.' They both burst into laughter at her description of Peyton, and Lucas couldn't help but think back to the night she'd almost made him road kill. Just days before everything changed. They were both pulled out of their thoughts by their phones ringing. They pulled them out, and looked at their caller Ids and smiled simultaneously, before answering and both saying 'Hey you.' They looked at each other, eyes wide and stunned and looking incredulous before Lucas stood up and moved off to give them each privacy.

'So Blondie, your date with Nathan that bad you had call me huh?' He asked, and almost sighed at the sound of her laughter coming through the phone.

_'Nah, he's not so bad. Just wanted to make sure you didn't forget to come get me at midnight. I know we're supposed to share a midnight kiss with our boytoy, but you're the guy I'm ending the night with.'_ He grinned at her words, before she asked _'What are you grinning about?'_ He looked shocked.

'How do you know I'm grinning?'

_'I know you fairly well Lucas Scott. I can tell when your silence is a happy silence or a broody silence. That was definitely a happy silence.'_

'Well, listen to you. Who'd have thought that night you almost ran me over that we'd end up here, huh?'

_'Yeah, I didn't even know who you were back then. Could've cared less, too.'_

'Ah, you sure know how to sweet talk a guy, don't ya?'

_'You know me, I'm all about the sweet talking.'_ They laughed together, and as Lucas looked up he caught Haley doing the same, as they locked eyes.

'So, is Peyton that bad a date you just had to call me?'

_'Nah, she's not so bad. Just making sure you didn't decide to run off with my dope of a brother.'_ She smiled at the word, wondering if he realised it, but then she registered what he'd actually said.

'Oh, ew! That's so beyond wrong. I can't believe you'd say that.'

_'Good to know the thought of dating Lucas repulses you. That's one less team member I've got to worry about.'_ They both started laughing, and she looked up and caught Lucas' eye as he laughed. They smiled at each other, then said goodbye to their significant others before hanging up.

'So, we're out of balloons and we have an hour to kill. How bout we go downstairs, clean up and get some hot chocolate.' Lucas nodded, and they both bent to get their jackets, but something on Haley's back caught his eye when she bent over.

'What's that?' He asked softly, and she whirled around, remembering too late the small tattoo she had on the small of her back.

'Nothing,' she said, reaching behind her to tug the back of her shirt down, but he stopped her, and pulled it back up to look at it.

'23.'

'Lucas, don't...' He cut her off with a wave of his hand, before he walked away to the stairs. She looked around at nothing in particular, half in concern, half in exasperation, before she followed him. She found him behind the counter, putting two mugs on the bench.

'He doesn't even know about it, Lucas.' She said softly, and saw him nod his head slightly. She sighed, and resumed towelling her hair, when he turned around.

'I'm sorry Hales, it was just a shock... he really doesn't know?' She shook her head.

'I just... I just did it, ok.'

'Why?'

'Because I love him. I'm so totally in love with him, it's crazy. I hate being away from him, I think about him constantly, and even if we're not together forever, but if I can look at this tattoo in 20 and remember how I feel today, I'll be ok with that.' He watched her face, and he nodded before he pulled her into a hug.

'God, how did we end up like this?' He asked, his voice muffled by her hair.

'What? Standing in your mother's cafe discussing my love life?' She asked, laughing as she pulled back to study his face.

'No, having love lives to discuss. Having love lives that involve Peyton Sawyer, girl of my dreams for many years, and Nathan Scott, my, until very recently, hated bastard of a younger half-brother. It seems surreal to think that only a few months ago, it was just you, me, and occasionally the guys down at the rivercourt.'

'Yeah, well, this definitely what I would've guess for either of us, but here we are, thank god. Cause if I didn't have Nathan and you didn't have Peyton, we would've been stuck with each other, then where would we be?'

'True, very true.'

'So Sawyer, we have half an hour left on our date, wanna dry off?'After their impromptu phone calls, they'd taken a tour of the building and had consequently ended up in the pool, fully dressed.

'That, Nathan Scott, is the best idea you've had all night. Just give me a minute.' They rested against the wall, both lost in thought. Finally, Peyton broke the silence. 'I'm proud of you Nate.' She said it so softly, and so suddenly, that he thought he'd imagined it until he looked up and saw her staring at him.

'Why?' That left her speechless her for a second.

'Because you've grown up. I was always worried you were gonna end up like Dan, but you've really stepped up in the last few months. You emancipated yourself, got yourself out from under him, you and Lucas are civilised to each other, even on the verge of friendly, and the way you are with Haley.' He raised an eyebrow in question, so she elaborated. 'You're doing it right, and for the right reasons. You're with her for her, nothing else.' He nodded, ducking his head in apparent embarrassment.

'I'm proud of you too, Sawyer.' He said after a minute, and he elaborated before she had the chance to ask. 'For fighting for what you wanted, and letting someone in, letting someone get behind all those damn walls of yours.' She groaned in embarrassment and let herself sink under the water.

20 minutes later, Haley let herself and Lucas into the apartment when there was no answer.

'Nathan?' She called out again, just for good measure, and was surprised when the bedroom door opened and he stepped out.

'Hey Hales, Lucas.' He walked over and kissed Haley quickly.

'So, what did you do with Peyton?' Lucas asked jokingly, but the bathroom door opened at that moment and Peyton stepped out, speaking to Nathan, unaware of the other two.

'I still can't believe you pushed me into the pool while I was fully clothed, you are so evil...' she trailed off when she looked up from hitching up his tracksuit pants. A smile broke across her face, and she moved forward quickly. 'Lucas,' was all she said before she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He was smirking when they broke apart.

'Miss me?'

'No, not so much,' she replied, shaking her head, trying to look serious but failing. Just then, they were all started by Nathans phone alarm going off, signalling midnight. 'Midnight. Huh, looks like our dates are over.'

'So it would seem. Oh, you know what that means,' Haley said and they all looked at each other before the two pairs of friends turned to each other. Peyton sent Nathan a warning look.

'Keep your hands to yourself buddy,' she warned just as Haley said 'If your tongue comes anywhere near my mouth, I'm just never speaking to you again.' Nathan and Lucas looked at each other, and rolled their eyes before they both leaned down slightly to peck the girls on the lips.

'Satisfied?'

'Thank god that's over.' Lucas said, which received and indignant 'hey' from Haley.

'No offence meant to you Haley, but it's basically like kissing my sister.' She shrugged and nodded. But Lucas was already looking at Peyton. She walked over to him.

'Give me a couple of minutes, I'm sure I can dry my clothes, then we can get out of here.' She walked back in to the bathroom, and they heard a hairdryer start. Lucas raised an eyebrow as he looked at Nathan, who pointed at Haley.

'Hey, last time I was here you did the same thing to me, so I brought it over just in case. Good thing too it would seem.' She went off to help Peyton then, leaving the two brothers alone in the kitchen.

'So, it sounds like you and Peyton had a good night,' Lucas started and Nathan nodded.

'Yeah, it was nice to talk. We never really did that before.' Lucas looked at him. 'I just meant that we didn't have that kind of a relationship, probably why it sucked. It was... nice' he said finally.

'Yeah, it was good to just hang out with Haley again, spends some time together like we used to.' They shared a look just as the girls came back in. Peyton had her pants and singlet top on, but her wet jacket was in her hand.

'I think the jacket'll need more than a hairdryer to help it.'

'That's cool, I've got a jumper in the car. You ready to take off?' She nodded. 'See ya Haley, Nathan.' She grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door.

'See ya!' he called out, closing the door behind him. Once they were in the truck, she pulled him towards her and kissed him deeply. When she pulled away, they were both breathing heavily. He looked at her questioningly, and she shrugged.

'I just really wanted to do that, and it didn't seem appropriate in Nathan's apartment.

A little while later, they were down at the rivercourt. Lucas was shooting some hoops, and Peyton was sitting on the bench, sketching him in action.

'So tell me again why we're doing this?'

'It's just something I've wanted to do since...' she trailed off, catching herself.

'Since when?' He probed, and she sighed, knowing he wouldn't let it go now.

'Since that first game you played, or second really, but the first one doesn't really count cause it sucked. Right before you came on, you told me my art mattered, and then I watched you out there and you were totally different from the first game, it was amazing. And I was itching to sketch you then.

'Were you really? Since that _first_ game, huh? I remember that night, I...' he trailed off and they both looked up to see Brooke standing there. 'Brooke?' He asked hesitantly. She took a deep breath then looked them both in the eye.

'I think I'm pregnant.'

'How long has it been?' Peyton asked Lucas as they sat on the edge of Brooke's bed. She was in the bathroom, and they were waiting for the result that could potentially change all three lives in one second.

'It should be ready by now,' he was cut off by the door opening, and they looked up to see Brooke coming out, test in one hand, her arms wrapped around her middle. She stuck out her hand and Peyton took it, being closer. She and Lucas looked down at the test, then up at each other.

'It's positive,' they whispered together, then heard Brooke sob.

'Oh my god, I'm pregnant.' She said as she slid down the wall. After glancing quickly at Peyton, Lucas went over to her, and crouched down. He put his arm gently on her arm.

'Brooke, it's gonna be alright. I promise you won't go through this alone.' He felt regret, and a twinge of anger, when she shrugged his arm off, but pushed it down. 'Don't shut me out Brooke.' She looked up at this.

'I think you're the one who shut me out, remember?' Now Peyton stood.

'Look Brooke, we're both here for you, but I think the first thing is make an appointment, double check that you're actually pregnant before we discuss anything else.'

_'I think I'm pregnant.'_

_'What do you mean you think?' Lucas asked, fear evident in his voice._

_'I mean, I'm late. Like, really late.' She caught Peyton's eye when she said this, and was surprised to see concern and sympathy there. She quickly looked away when she felt the guilt, and looked back at Lucas; it was slightly easier to hate him._

_'Well, did you take a test?' She shook her head, and he let out a breath. 'Ok, well that' the first thing we need to do._

Peyton had felt sad when she heard the first words out of Brooke's mouth, but now she felt worse, looking at her former best friend in a ball on the floor. She bent down and stroked her hair. 'Lucas and I'll take you to the doctors tomorrow, ok? We're gonna be here for you, trust us.' Brooke looked up.

'Yeah, cause that worked so well for me last time.'

The next day, Peyton and Lucas were sitting in her car waiting for Brooke. She'd let them drive her, but refused to let them inside with her, so they were now waiting for her. Peyton stared off into space, lost in thought, and while Lucas knew he had a lot to be thinking about too, he was focused on her.

'What's going on in there, Blondie?' She turned and smiled at the use of his name for her.

'Nothing, just thinking. We've never really had the best timing have we? Something always seems to get in the way,' she added sadly before she looked away, but his hand shot out and stopped her, his hand on her chin and gently brought her head back around so she was looking at him.

'Hey, what you're thinking, it's never gonna happen, ok? I love you. I'm gonna be there for Brooke, and I'm not gonna let her go through what my mum went through, because she doesn't deserve that, but at the end of the day, I'm coming back to you.' She smiled and leant over to kiss him sweetly.

Neither one noticed Brooke, who had heard the whole conversation, and was smiling sadly. But when they kissed, it brought back bad memories, and the bitch was back. She walked over and dumped her bag in the backseat, loudly, making the couple jump. She climbed in.

'Brook, what did they say?'

'They're gonna call me in a few hours, and they asked about the father.'

'What did you tell them?' Peyton asked quietly.

'I told them the sorry bro hoe kicked my ass to the curb in favour of my best friend.' They both sighed as she looked pointedly away from them, and they turned in their seats. Peyton started the car, and pulled away from the curb.

'Hey, Brooke,' Lucas called out, pushing himself off Peyton's car where he was waiting. 'Did you hear from them?'

'Did I come find you?'

'Where've you been?'

'Away from you.'

'Come on, don't do this to me. I'm just as scared as you Brooke.' She scoffed.

'Really? Or are you just scared that having a kid might deflate your market value? Oh wait, you're not on the market any more, are you?'

'Leave Peyton out of this, Brooke. You know, she's being really great about all this.' Now she rolled her eyes.

'If she's so great, why are you standing here next to me? Hey, maybe you can pull a Dan Scott and knock her up too.'

'Brooke!' This exclamation came from Peyton, whom neither had noticed arrive, although she was now next to them.

'I'm just saying, he better watch himself, or who knows how many kids he'll end up with.'

'Nice, Brooke. Although, you can't really talk, can you?' Peyton said, and Brooke looked at her, an eyebrow raised.

'What?'

'Just that you weren't exactly miss pure when you and Lucas started going out. How do you even know it's his?' Brooke was about to respond when her phone rang. She pulled it out and answered angrily.

'Yes?' She waited for a minute, then responded 'This is Brooke... ok, thank you.' She hung up, then looked back at Peyton. 'Trust me, it's his.' Then she turned and walked away, leaving them alone.

Later that afternoon, after school and before practice, Lucas found Jake sitting under a tree. He sat down next to him.

'Hey, Luke.'

'Hey Jake.' There was a silence between the two for a minute before Jake spoke.

'So, what's going on and how can I help?' Lucas looked at him, and smiled.

'How do you do that?'

'What?'

'Know automatically why I'm here.'

'It's a gift. So, spill.' Lucas looked around them, trying to find the right words.

'What did you do when you found out about Jenny?'

'Is Peyton...?' Lucas shook his head.

'Brooke.' Jake exhaled loudly, and shook his head.

'Damn.'

'I know.'

'I don't know, I mean, I loved Jenny's mum, and we were together, I guess it was different for me. How does Brooke feel about all this? And where does Peyton fit in?'

'I have no idea how Brooke feels... she's shutting me out, and I totally get that, but it's so... frustrating. I wanna be there for her, I really don't wanna be Dan, but she's not giving me the chance. And Peyton... she's perfect. She's being so supportive, she understands why I have to be there for her, she wants me to be there for her. But I still feel bad for her, this can't be easy for her, for either of them.'

'Look man, I'm sure she'll come around. Just don't let her cut you out, make sure that when she's ready, she knows you're still gonna be there.'

'Thanks man. We gotta go, Whitey's gonna kick our asses.' He stood up, then held out his hand and helped Jake to his feet.

Lucas walked into the gym, and was about to head over to the group, when Brooke stepped in front of him.

'Lucas, we need to talk, really quickly.' He glanced over at Peyton, who saw him and headed over.

'What is it Brooke?' He asked, and she looked down, but he swore he saw shame in her eyes.

'I lied.'

'What?' Peyton was next to them now, and heard his question, and looked at Brooke.

'I said, I lied. I'm not pregnant.'

'I saw you on the phone.'

'I lied, the doctor said the test was negative.'

'Why would you do that?' Peyton asked, anger evident in her voice, and Brooke's eyes snapped up.

'Because you had just called me a slut.'

'Yeah, and you had just compared Lucas to Dan Scott.' Their voices were loud now, and everyone in the gym was staring at them, but they didn't notice. 'Were you trying to punish him for something I said?'

'Punish him?'

'Yeah, if you'd bothered to notice, he's been worried about you all day, and you've been ignoring him.'

'Yeah well, he's the one who chose you.'

'We've been over that Brooke.'

'No, you've been over it. I never really got to say my bit. You slept with my boyfriend, Peyton.' She screamed at her.

'For the last time, we didn't sleep together! I'm not you, Brooke.'

'At least I only hook up with guys who are single.' This seemed to be the last straw for Peyton, and her hand swung out, and the sound of the slap echoed in the silent gym. Then she turned and strode out, picking up her bag on the way. Lucas was a second behind her, pausing only to glare at Brooke before he was running after Peyton.

He found her already in her car, and he slid in beside her, and pulled her into his arms, and let her cry. When she was done, he pulled her back and studied her face.

'You ok, Blondie?'

'I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to cry. God, it's so embarrassing. It's just... Brooke and I made a promise to each other when we were 9. We promised we'd never lie to each other, that we'd always be there for each other, and that we'd never hurt each other, especially not deliberately. I'm sorry, I'm good now. Do you want me to take you home?' He shook his head, and she nodded in understanding, automatically knowing where he wanted to be.

A/N: So, let me know what you think. Hate it, like it, love it?? Whatever your feelings, I can take it, so hit that review button.


	6. Chapter 6: Forgiveness

Disclaimer: I don't own it... if I did, there would have been no wedding, no separation of Nathan and Haley and many other things.

A/N: Ok, here's the next chapter... sorry it took so long... year 12 play, LOTS of homework to catch up on during the holidays... but here it is...

Chapter 6: Forgiveness

Have you ever looked in a mirror and not known the person in the reflection? Have you ever felt yourself spiralling out of control, becoming this whole other person that it isn't you, but felt like there was nothing you could do to stop it? Have you ever looked in the mirror and hated the person looking back at you?

Brooke Davis could safely say yes to all three questions, and it shamed her. She was 17 and already hating who she'd become. She's played with her best friend's emotions to get the guy, and after it had fallen apart, she'd tried play with their happiness.

Brooke was staring herself in the eye as she leant on her bathroom sink. Last night had definitely not been a good idea...

_Feeling angry and hurt and guilty, Brooke headed to a bar. She was sitting at the bar, when a girl started talking to her. She introduced herself as Nikki, and they hit it off. Nikki told her she'd screwed up too, but sometimes you just needed to hold your head up and ask for forgiveness. Brooke asked her how it had turned out for her, and she'd laughed and held up her drink._

'_I'm still working on the courage.'_

They'd stayed there until closing, drinking round after round, and it appeared Brooke was a little out of practice. She thought about Nikki's words, and decided she was right, however drunk. But first there was someone she wanted to talk to.

Brooke pulled up at the curb, and was surprised to see Nikki on the porch, talking to Jake, who was holding the door closed behind him. They appeared to be arguing. She got out of her car, and headed up the path. Two head looked at her as she neared.

'Brooke?' They both asked, confused, though for different reasons.

'What are you doing here Brooke?'

'I wanted to talk to you for a minute. What are you doing here Nikki?' Jake seemed shocked that Brooke was on a first name basis with the other woman.

'Facing my demons, but apparently I'm not receiving too much forgiveness today.' Jake looked back at her.

'I told, you're too late, about 8 months too late for this Nikki. Just go.'



'Fine, but I'll be back, and I will see my daughter.' Then she turned to go, stopping at the bottom of the steps.

'See you around Brooke.' Brooke watched her go, then turned back to Jake.

'That's Jenny's mum?'

'Yeah, in the flesh. So what are you doing here?'

'I wanted to ask you something... but I already have my answer.' She seemed lost in thought. 'Sorry, I gotta go, there's something I gotta do.'

Peyton was sitting on her bed sketching, her music blaring, when she saw someone hovering outside her door. Frowning, she stood and turned off the music, before heading to the door. She was shocked when she saw the brown hair, and was confused when it appeared that Brooke was debating with herself.

'Brooke?' Brooke turned suddenly, surprised and a little nervous now that Peyton had caught her off guard.

'Hey, P... Peyton.' Peyton's brows furrowed in confusion; it sounded like Brooke was about to use her nickname, but changed her mind. But that was the least important fact right now; the most important being that Brooke was here, in her house, less than 24 hours after she'd slapped her.

'What are you doing here?'

'I wanted to see you... I wanted... god, I'm so sorry Peyton. For everything, for how I acted before, and how I treated you and lying. Most of the lying. I never meant to hurt you, but then I was so angry, or not even angry I guess... mostly I'm jealous. I'm jealous of you Peyton, I always was. Without even trying, you got Lucas Scott to fall in love with you, and I was jealous. I don't even think it was because it was Lucas, just because someone loved you, like really loved you. I don't think I really loved him, not the way you do, cause he's not the one for me, but god, it still hurt.'

'I know Brooke, I-'

'I know Peyton, I know. That's not why I'm here though. You know, I was looking in the mirror this morning, and for the first time in my life, I didn't like what I saw. I know, weird right? But I didn't see Brooke Davis any more, all I could see was this spiteful person who was hurting the people she loves. And then, just before, I was at Jake's, and I met Jenny's mum, and you should've seen the look on Jake's face, the hate there, and the hurt. And I realised I never wanted to be Nikki, leaving it too late, and I didn't want you to be Jake. I want us to be B. Davis and P. Sawyer again. Best friends forever.' Peyton reached out, and Brooke shied away, thinking she was going to hit her again, but was surprised when Peyton pulled her into a hug. She clung to her friend desperately, and they held each other for nearly 5 minutes. Finally, Peyton pulled back, and took a deep breath.

'I know you said it's not why you're here, but since you are... I just wanna say again how sorry I am. I really did never mean to hurt you, honestly, when it started, I wasn't thinking about you, I was only thinking about Lucas. But we stopped, because neither of us could do _that_ to you. But we 

should've told you sooner, we should've _told_ you. He was your boyfriend, and you're my best friend. Hoes over bros right?' Brooke laughed, and pulled her friend closer.

'All's forgiven, on this side, at least,' she whispered, and Peyton could hear the hesitation in her voice. No matter how she seemed to the world, Brooke Davis was possibly the most insecure person in the world, especially when it came to being loved, right behind herself, of course.

'All's forgiven.' Peyton whispered back, the conviction in her voice a promise.

'I missed you P. Sawyer.'

'Right back at ya, B. Davis.'

'Peyton? Brooke?' The two girls looked up and burst into laughter at the sight of Lucas in the doorway, uncertainty and confusion covering his face as he looked between the two girls.

Nearly three weeks had passed since that day, and things were definitely looking up. Brooke and Peyton were back on track with their friendship, Peyton and Lucas were still going strong, as were Nathan and Haley, and Jake, on Brooke's urging, had decided to stay and fight Nikki, to force her to stay away from Jenny. The only problem was Lucas; he was talking to Brooke, but he was cold, distant.

'Hey Blondie,' Lucas came up to Peyton and bent down to kiss her. When he pulled up, he nodded stiffly to Brooke, 'Brooke. Hey Hales,' he added, smiling at her, but before he could sit down and join them, Haley stood up and took his arm.

'Excuse us, we'll be right back.' She told them over her should before dragging him away. When they were a few metres away she turned back to him, put her hands on her hips, and looked at him pointedly.

'Well?' He asked, and she sighed.

'You know why we're over here. We're over here cause Peyton doesn't want to ruin the friendship she's just put back together, or the relationship she's just started. But you can't stay mad at me for long, so I'm calling you on it.'

'On what?' he demanded, still playing dumb.

'Ah! Why are you giving Brooke the cold shoulder? Peyton's forgiven her, why can't you? I mean, you did treat her pretty shabbily.'

'Hey, I'm well aware of my actions, thank you very much, and all the repercussions that came with them, but Brooke froze Peyton and I out, no matter how much we apologised, or gave her, her space or whatever she wanted. And then she messed with us, deliberately.' He sighed, running his hand through his hair, and when he spoke again, his voice was low. 'She compared me to Dan, do you know what that was like? It was bad enough that I was already thinking it, but then she said it. You know how hard I try to make sure I'm never like him and then...'

'Lucas,' He spun around to see Brooke behind him, almost on the verge of tears. 'Haley, can we have a minute?' Haley nodded, touched his arm lightly, then returned to the table. 'Lucas...' she stopped, looked up at him. 'Lucas I'm sorry. I guess I never said that to you before, did I? I don't blame you for how you've been treating me. I was so angry, so bitter, and it just sort of happened, kinda like you and Peyton, I guess. No, don't,' she said, holding up her hand to stop him from speaking, 'that wasn't an attack, I've forgiven you. I have. Can you forgive me?' It was the quiver in her voice that did it; he sighed, then pulled her into a hug.

'You're forgiven Brooke. And for the record, I really am sorry.' He felt her nod against his chest, then he pulled her back. There was one stray tear on her cheek, and he brushed it with a finger. 'Come on, let's get back so Peyton can yell at me for making her best friend cry.' They headed back, and Lucas sat down next to Peyton and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to put you between me and Brooke.' She leaned into his embrace, tilting her head backwards to kiss him. 'Mm,' he whispered against her lips, 'I guess this means I'm forgiving?' She laughed.

'Well, you know, seems likes everyone's doing these days, I just wanna be like the cool kids.'

'Sawyer, you're just too damn weird to be one of the cool kids,' Nathan said, coming up behind them, and they laughed as she swung out to hit him in the stomach.

'Hey, I left Lucas whole, I'd appreciate you do the same.' Haley said from the other side of the table. Brooke watched the two couples interacting, and smiled sadly. As happy as she was that her friends were happy, she couldn't help but want someone of her own. She looked up and saw Jake heading in their direction, and she smiled and waved him over.

'Hey Jake, what's the latest on the Nikki situation?' She asked as she sat down with them. That got everyone's attention, and they all looked at him.

'Uh, it's kinda bad. She's filing for sole custody, to spite me.' He looked worried as he spoke, and off in his own world.

'That's crap, there's no way a judge'll give Jenny to her, she hasn't been here the last 8 months.' Brooke said, infuriated for him.

'I don't know, judges always seem to side with mothers in cases like this.' Jake said defeatedly, but Brooke just shook her head.

'Well, we won't let him, or her, whatever. We won't let them. Jake, we all know how hard you've worked to bring Jenny up, and we're not gonna let that bitch take her from you now.' She looked at the others, who were already nodding their heads in agreement, and she looked back at him, gesturing the their friends.

'See? We're all behind you on this. You're not gonna be alone.'

A/N: What did ya think? I'm not too sure about this chapter, or the next one either, they're kinda fillers, and you will notice in the next chapter I skip, and then again later... I kinda don't do much in the second season, so I'm trying to get passed that as quickly as I can. Anyway, leave a review, I'll love you forever


	7. Chapter 7: More Complications

Disclaimer: Don't own it, if I did, well... this season would be going SOO differently

A/N: Ok, so HERE IT IS!! SOO sorry that it's taken so long. School is killing me right now, so many SACs, and exams in three weeks, but I finally finished another chapter! YAY! Anyway, enough rambling... here it is. Oh, and I've skipped until a little bit into the second season. So enjoy!

Chapter 7: More Complications

Over two months had passed since the day the five friends vowed to help Jake win custody of his daughter. And compared to some of the other things that had happened, his custody battle was nothing.

First, Keith had left Tree Hill to move to Charlotte for a teaching position, but after being there barely two days, he'd gotten a call from Lucas telling him Dan was in hospital, and he'd come back after an internal debate, because he always did the right thing.

Second and, the most shocking, occurred the day that Keith had left Tree Hill; Lucas and Peyton, on a search for Haley and Nathan, had found them at Nathan's apartment, married.

Third, after throwing Haley and Nathan a party, Peyton had decided, along with Karen, to open a club, which was having its opening night in two days.

And lastly, the new people on the scene, and there were, for a short amount of time, quite a few. There was Andy, Karen's professor and potential boyfriend, Jules, Keith's potential girlfriend, Chris, possibly the world's most irritating person, and Brooke's new neighbour, Felix. Currently, the six friends were all sitting around in Karen's cafe; Jake playing with baby Jenny, and talking to Haley, Peyton listening to Brooke bitch about her ass of a new neighbour, and Lucas and Nathan talking about his and Haley's marriage.

'I still can't believe you guys got _married_, I mean I know it's been like two weeks, but it's still... every time I see the ring on Haley's finger, or yours, I get this reaction, like; what the hell is that?' Lucas said, shaking his head and laughing.

'Yeah, I know what you mean man. I'm still kinda digesting it myself, sometimes I'm like what the hell were we thinking, we're can't be married. But then I wake up next to her, or we're eating together, and I just feel... I dunno...'

'Whole?' Lucas supplied, and Nathan followed his gaze to Peyton.

'Yeah, exactly. So things with you and Peyton are going good?'

'Yeah, they are. She's really excited about this club opening. It should be good. Peyton said she's trying to get Haley to sing, you sent her an mp3? How's that going?'

'Uh...' They both looked over to where Jake and Haley were sitting, and listened to them.

'So Peyton told me she asked you to play Tric on its opening night.' Haley groaned and put her head on the table.



'Yeah... the only other person, who I think she should hire, is, according to her, a total jerk and she really doesn't wanna use him, although even if I did play, she'd still need someone else, but... Am I a terrible friend if I don't play?' she looked at him and he nodded. 'Uh, I know... fine!' the last word came out rather loudly, causing the other four people in the room to look at her in surprise.

'What's going on?' Nathan asked, looking at his wife in puzzlement.

'I was just saying, fine! I'll play Tric for the opening night.' She ducked her head, burying it under her arms as the others all started cheering. Two seconds later, she was being enveloped by arms, and she lifted her head up to see Peyton.

'Thank you, thank you, thank you! I swear, you won't regret this, it'll be great!' Peyton was smiling, and she was so happy, that all Haley could do was smile back and act as enthusiastic as everyone else, but she knew Lucas was watching her.

A little while later, while Nathan and Jake were talking, and Peyton and Brooke were discussing outfits and Tric, Haley heard someone come up behind her, and watched as Lucas sat down in front of her. She didn't say anything for a minute, but, as he continued to watch her with that all knowing stare, she broke down.

'What?!' She demanded, and he smirked.

'You so don't wanna play at Tric.' She glared at him, then sighed.

'I really don't, but... I told Peyton I would, and now everyone's expecting me to sing. I can't back out.' His smirk softened into a smile.

'It's a great thing you did, Hales. Peyton really didn't wanna have to ask that Chris guy, she seems to really hate him, and we all know you're an amazing singer. Just, when you're up there...'

'Do NOT tell me to picture the audience in their underwear, Lucas.' He laughed and shook his head.

'Nah, that's never a good idea, uh... I did that once when I was little, had nightmares for a week and didn't talk to my mum for the same week.' They both laughed, as Lucas shuddered from the memory. 'Anyway, what I was gonna say was, just block them out. That's what I do. Pretend that you're not playing for anyone but yourself. Just imagine it's just you, singing because you love to. That's what I do.'

'Oh... well that's ok then. That seriously works? What about seeing them, hearing them...'

'Just block it out, pretend you're just in your apartment, playing for Nathan or something.'

'Are you sure I can't just be a horrible person for once and back out?' He raised an eyebrow and she sighed. 'I know, I know, it was just a thought.'



'You'll be great Hales, you've got an amazing voice, you know you do, I know you do, we all do. Now let everyone else know too.' He shrugged and then stood, giving her a quick hug before he left her alone.

'Peyton, this is amazing! I can't believe you did all this' Brooke squealed as she came up to her friend. Peyton stumbled backwards as Brooke launched herself into her arms.

'Ok, how much have you had to drink?' Brooke laughed and shook her head.

'Actually, nothing.' Peyton raised her eyebrow and looked at her friend. 'No, seriously, I haven't had anything to drink. Completely straight and sober, I swear on my shoes.'

'Wow, on your shoes! You must be sober.' The two friends shared a laugh, as Haley came up behind them.

'Peyton, can I talk to you for a minute?'

'Sure, what's up?'

'I can't do it, I can't sing.'

'What? Haley...'

'No, I'm sorry Peyton, I really wanna do this for you, I just can't.' Peyton could see the fear in her friend's eyes, and sighed.

'Fine, but you know, you're gonna have to get up there some time.' Haley nodded before she walked away.

'Alright everyone, before we get started with the live music, I just wanna thank all of you for coming out tonight to help celebrate the opening night of Tric.' Cheering filled the room, and Peyton couldn't help but smile, and as she looked out, she caught Lucas' eye and he grinned at her. 'Alright,' she continued, tearing her eyes off Lucas, 'now let's get on with the night. Everyone, welcome Chris Keller!' There was cheering, and she looked to the left to where Chris was supposed to be entering from, but there was no Chris. 'Chris Keller!' She said again, into the microphone, but again nothing. She looked back out into the crowd, and saw the disappointed faces, and she smiled awkwardly. 'Sorry guys, there seems to be a problem, what with the lack of singer, just hang on and I'll find out what's going on.' She hurried off the stage and met Lucas. 'Where is he?' She yelled, and then she saw him. Lucas quickly stepped out of her way, watching as she stormed towards Chris.

'Hey...'



'What the HELL do you think you're doing?' She demanded, and Lucas smirked as he saw Chris actually back up a little.

'Chris Keller's not playing.'

'Yes, thankyou I can see that, WHY?'

'Well, let's look at it this way... if I hadn't done that, do you think she'd be up there right now?' He asked, indicating the stage, and both Lucas and Peyton turned to see Haley sitting at a keyboard, eyes closed as her hands hovered above the keys. Then she started to play.

_It's October again_

_The leaves are coming down_

_One more year's come and gone_

_And nothing's changed at all_

_Wasn't I_

_Supposed to be someone_

_To face the things that I've been running from_

'So you're telling me you did this for her?' Peyton asked, looking back at Chris as Haley played and he shrugged.

'Chris Keller ain't telling.' Then he picked up his guitar case, and walked away, and Lucas came and put his arm around her.

'Are you mad, happy or just as confused as I am?' He asked, and she laughed, leaning into him.

'All three'

_Let me feel_

_I don't care if I break down_

_Let me fall_

_Even if I hit the ground_

_And if I_

_Cry a little_

_Die a little_

_At least I know I live_

_Just a little_

'Nathan,' Nathan turned at Jake's voice, and smiled at him.

'Hey Jake.'

'You must be proud of her, she's really good.' Nathan turned back to watch his wife.

'She's amazing,' he said with a smile, and Jake laughed.

'That she is. I'm really glad to see she got the courage to go up there tonight.'

'Yeah, me too. I wonder what changed her mind, she told me earlier that she was gonna tell Peyton she couldn't do it.'

'Maybe cause that Chris guy didn't go on,' Jake commented, and Nathan nodded.

'Yeah, she would've felt really bad for cancelling on Peyton. Whatever, I'm just really happy she's up there.'

_I've become much too good_

_At being invincible_

_I'm an expert_

_At play it safe_

_And keep it cool_

_But I swear_

_This isn't who I'm meant to be_

_I refuse to let my life roll over me_

_Let me feel_

_I don't care if I break down_

_Let me fall_

_Even if I hit the ground_

_And if I_

_Cry a little_

_Die a little_

_At least I know I lived_

_Just a little_

'Hey, you're Brooke, right?' Brooke turned her attention from the bottle she was placing back in the bar, to the girl to her right.

'Yeah, do I know you?' She asked, smiling.

'I'm Anna, we haven't actually met, but I think you know my brother.' Anna said, smiling.

'Brother... Felix?' Brooke asked, surprised and Anna nodded. 'He never mentioned a sister.' Again, Anna nodded and rolled her eyes.

'Somehow, that doesn't surprise me. You don't sound like you like him all that much.' Anna stated, and Brooke laughed.

'That would be an understatement. No offence, but he's probably the most annoying, irritating...'

'Self-centred...?' Anna supplied.

'Yes, self-centred person I've ever met, and I've met some annoying and irritating, and self-centred people in my time.' She looked at Anna, and smiled.

'Yeah, but with Felix, there's an extra... something.' The two girls laughed, neither noticing the boy in question standing near them.

_I wanna be somebody_

_I... I wanna be somebody_

_I wanna be somebody_

_I..._

_I wanna be somebody_

_Who can face the things that I've been running from_

_Let me feel_

_I don't care if I break down_

_Let me fall_

_Even if I hit the ground_

_And if I_

_Cry a little_

_Die a little_

_At least I know I lived_

_It's October again_

_The leaves are coming down_

_One more year's come and gone_

_And nothing's changed at all_

Haley let out a breath as she finished, and looked up in surprise as the room erupted in cheering. She smiled, but her eyes searched out a small group in particular. She found them all, Nathan, Jake, Lucas, Peyton, Brooke, Mouth... and another girl, all standing together. Then she heard them.

'GO HALEY!' Brooke screamed, and the girl next to her cheered, looking a little lost.

'WOO!! HALEY!!' This came from Mouth.

'YOU ROCK HALES!' She recognised he voice, and nickname, as coming from Lucas, and she smiled at him.

'WE LOVE YOU HALEY!!' Her eyes travelled over Peyton as she called out to her, and she caught Jake's eyes as he yelled 'KNEW YOU COULD DO IT!!'

But it was the next sentence that she loved the most.

'THAT'S MY WIFE!! I LOVE YOU HALES!' She looked at Nathan, and everything faded away for a minute, then the noise of the crowd reminded her of where she was, and she heard Karen's voice through the microphone.

'Haley James everyone!' Haley looked at her quickly, and she held up her hands in defence. 'Sorry, Haley James-_Scott_' Haley ducked her head at the loud cheers that resonated through the large building, and then suddenly she was being enveloped from behind, by Nathan, she saw as she tilted her head back.

'Come on, let's go see everyone. You were awesome baby, I knew you could do it, we all told you, didn't we?' Nathan asked in an _I told you so_ voice, and she hit him playfully.

'Ok, ok, so you all said that, and I didn't listen, yeah yeah. Come on.' She pulled his arm, and he let her drag him off the stage. She was greeted by her friends, who swallowed her into a huge 

group hug. Finally they all let go except Lucas, who pulled her in close, and whispered in her ear 'I'm so proud of you Hales, and I know I've already said it, but congratulations on your wedding, he's a great guy, I just wish I coulda been there.' When he pulled back, he saw tears in her eyes, and she was smiling. He kissed her forehead, then stepped back.

'Hales, thank you so much, I know how hard it must have been, but...'

'Peyton, I'm so glad Chris didn't go on, cause if he had, I never would've done that, and I loved it! Thank _you_.' Haley interrupted, and the two girls shared a quick hug, before an older guy in a suit came up to them.

'Haley James?'

'Scott' she said automatically, and then she turned to see a confused man looking at her.

'I beg your pardon?'

'Sorry... reflex, but it's Haley James-Scott now.'

'Oh, sorry, but uh, Haley, THUD magazine were wondering if they could get an interview with you.'

'Really? THUD magazine?'

'Really. They're want to know if you would be willing to speak to them in about half an hour.

'Oh my god! Uh... yeah, of course.' The man nodded before he walked away, and as soon as he was out of hearing distance Haley squealed and turned to Nathan. 'OH MY GOD! THUD magazine want to interview me!! This is so AWESOME!'

'I'm so proud of you babe, you totally deserve it.' He said proudly, while he pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head.

'Come with me?' She asked, and he grinned down at her.

'Of course.' They said goodnight to their friends, and followed the general direction the man had taken earlier.

'He-eey, Haley wants to do a interview with Thud... I'm so proud of Thud... she deserves it...woah,' Brooke looked close to passing out where she stood, and was now leaning on Mouth, who wrapped an arm around her waist to support her before turning to Lucas and Peyton.

'I'm gonna take her home, tonight was awesome Peyton, and say congrats again to Haley. See ya tomorrow. Nice meeting you Anna,' he added, pausing as he walked away to look back at the young, dark girl who had been standing with them. She blushed, and ducked her head, before mumbling something back to him.



'Uh, you were in charge of tonight, weren't you? Peyton, right?' the girl, Anna, asked, and Peyton's eyebrows raised in surprise.

'That's right...'

'I'm Anna, I'm... Felix's sister, I met Brooke earlier.' She explained, and Peyton let out a low laugh.

'Admitting you're related to Felix, that takes some guts.' Anna joined in laughing now, and then sighed.

'Yeah, it can be bad on most occasions, but it seems like he hasn't made the best impression in this town. Brooke seemed less than impressed.' Peyton nodded her head in agreement.

'Yeah, she's been with guys like that before, and she's not interested any more. Plus, she's had her heart broken recently, and I don't think she needs anyone, particularly a Felix, in her life right now.' Peyton said softly, and Anna couldn't help but notice the guilty looks Peyton and Lucas shared when Peyton spoke about Brooke's heart being broken. There was a story there, but she'd have to get it another time.

'I'm sorry to hear it. Anyway, look it was nice to meet you, but I should get going, before my parents, or Felix, yell at me for being out late. See ya,' she smiled at them and turned away.

'Hmm...she seems nice.' Lucas commented.

'Yeah, especially since she's related to Felix.'

'Ha, true. Well, tonight was awesome Blondie, you did good.' He told her, pulling her in close to him. 'I'm so proud of you' he whispered in her ear, and she looked up at him. She kissed him lightly, then pulled back, grinning.

'Come on, let's go help your mum pack up.'

'Mouth...why are you so nice?' Brooke mumbled as he led her to her bed. He let out a low, dark chuckle, before tucking her into bed.

'I'm not really,' he said softly, and she shook her head slightly.

'No, you are. You are!' she insisted. 'You brought my dollhouse back for me, that's the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me.'

'I love you Brooke Davis,' he whispered into her hair, before he gave her a quick kiss, then let himself back out her door. He didn't notice the figure in the dark, watching his retreat, nor de he notice the figure steal up into Brooke's room.



Brooke stirred when she felt her bed dip, and a hand reach out and touch her arm. She opened her eyes to see Felix sitting on her bed. It took her only a second to realise what was going on, despite how drunk she was.

'Felix, you took care of me?' She saw him hesitate for a second, calculate, then he nodded.

'Yeah.' She sat up, and saw that he thought she was going to kiss him or something.

'Huh, really? So it wasn't Mouth who was driving my car, or Mouth who helped me up the stairs, or tucked me into bed?' She saw the panic, and let out a low laugh. 'That's what I thought. Get out of my house, Felix.'

'Brooke...'

'GET OUT!' She screamed, standing up, feeling much more sober now. When he didn't move, she screamed again, 'GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!' That got him, and he ran out the door.

Anna was lying on her bed when she heard the dor slam, and Felix storm through the house to his room. She'd heard Brooke screaming, and now that Felix was storming around, could only assume it was him on the receiving end of Brooke's yelling. She stood up and made her way to his doorway, and smirked at the sight in front of her.

'So, you got kicked to the curb did you? What'd you do this time?'

'Piss off Anna.' He said without looking up.

'Oh, feisty tonight. I told you she wasn't gonna fall for your crap, Felix. God, you can be such a jerk, and you never learn! Girls always see through your crap, you just can't stand that this one did it before she slept with you.' He looked up at her now, and she shook her head. 'When are you gonna learn?' She left him with that question as she turned and walked away.

Brooke heard the knocking on her outer door 5 minutes later, and stood to open it, seeing Anna. She let her into the room, and sat next to her on the bed.

'So, I heard you earlier.'

'Oh, yeah...'

'Good for you.'

'What?' Brooke looked at her in surprise.

'If you didn't notice at Tric, I'm not all that fond of my darling brother. Actually, on a good day, I can tolerate him. On a good day.' The two girls laughed, neither noticing that Felix was once again lurking outside her door, listening to them, and scowling. They were too busy having fun, laughing and talking about the night.

A/N: So, what did you think? Please let me know, just hit that little button. The next chapter will skip forward, and will mainly be the time capsule entries, I'll try to get it up soon. Oh, and I'm about to upload a new story, it's called Opposites Attract, under OTH. Feel free to check it out. Thanks for keeping up with me. :D


	8. Chapter 8: Truths

a/n: OH MY GOD!! An update!! Ok, so I kinda lied in the oneshot I posted earlier, I have a chapter to update. But it was a good lie, so yay!! This is sort of a filler chapter, a little bit will lead into the next chapter though, so enjoy...

Disclaimer: Not mine... if it was Lucas n Peyton would've been married AGES ago and Brooke would actually have a guy that lasts longer than a month – just let her find a good guy!!

Chapter 8: Truths

'So I'm supposed to tell you about myself... well, I don't really know what to say. Although I had a great childhood, my mum was awesome, this year's been the best of my life so far. It all started when I joined the basketball team. I wasn't sure I even wanted to do it, but then Nathan started being all... Dan like I guess. Dan's our dad, Nathan and me... god, it's so screwed up. But after all that's happened, I'm glad that Nathan and I are friends now, even like brothers. Not even a year ago, I hated him, but he's actually not that bad, once he stopped being controlled by Dan. Anyway, that's all... mostly in the past now. Like I was saying, this year's been really great. One of the best things is most definitely Peyton Sawyer, walking blonde bombshell basically. I think I've loved her since the first time I saw her, although that was a young boy kinda love. This is different. I'm totally in love with her, and it's amazing. I still can't believe we're here, I didn't think it was gonna happen after everything that happened a few months ago, but here we are. She's perfect, witty, sarcastic, funny, beautiful, smart... everything I could've asked for, and god knows why, she loves me too. It took a few years, but I finally got the girl of my dreams, literally the girl of my dreams, a few months ago, and my best friend got the guy of hers, although not as literally.' Lucas stopped for a second and looked away from the camera, running a hand through his hair.

'I have to say, when Haley started dating Nathan, I didn't see it, I couldn't figure it out. And then three months ago, when I showed up at Nathan's apartment and she told me they got married, I really thought she was just trying to see what I'd do, but no, my best friend married my little brother... while we're all still Juniors. I'm still trying to get my head around that. She's not here right now, in Tree Hill. My mum opened a club, with Peyton's help, Peyton being that girl from my dreams, and on opening night, they managed to convince Hales to play and she was great. I mean, we all knew she would be, but it took that night to sort of... bring her out of her shell. And then a few weeks later, The Wreckers came through town and they wanted her to play, and she went. I know it was hard for her and Nathan, that decision, but I think it was the right one. I know she still loves him, but sometimes I think he doesn't, or he's not sure of it. I hope she finds what she's looking for, and comes back to him soon. There's still all this crap going on with his family, and Dan, and I think he needs her here, but he won't, in true Nathan Scott fashion, admit it to any of us. I think the only person he'd ever admit it to is the person who's not here.' He sighed, and once again ran his hand through his hair.

'Anyway, I'm sure none of you really cared about anything I just said, huh? So, Tree Hill High-ians of the future, uh... have fun while you still can, but don't let yourself fail... it's not fun. I honestly don't know who's scarier... Ms Webb the calculus teacher or my mum.' He visibly shuddered before continuing. 'So, I think that's my time limit, hope this place is still here in 50 years, and there's a new set of teachers to terrorise the teenagers of the future.'

Lucas smiled once, then stopped the video before he stood up and left the small room, almost running into the girl that was after him. After he mumbled an apology, he walked quickly back to class. When Whitey had told them of this project two days ago, he had been dreading it. Despite what people said about him being good with words, he wasn't all that big on speeches. Sure, he gave them, especially if it was to someone really special to him, but the thought of talking about himself for a video that kids were going to watch in 50 years kinda freaked him out, and lucky for him, he was the first of his friends to have to do it. But he knew Peyton was next, and she was looking forward to it less than he was.



'So, my name's Peyton Sawyer, I'm on the cheerleading squad, dating a basketballer and god, I sound like a typical airhead right now, don't I? But that's not really true. I mean, yeah, I'm a cheerleader who's dating one of the stars of the basketball team, but... I also draw for THUD magazine, and I'm not sure if that still exists in 50 years, but right now, it's one of the coolest publications in the town. Although, no one really knows that I do the cartoons, except Lucas, my boyfriend, and I think Nathan, his brother, also coincidentally my ex. But that's a whole long story that you probably don't need or want to know.' Peyton laughed softly to herself as she thought about the past few months.

'So, besides the whole drawing thing, which I do for fun too, I also love music. I actually helped Lucas' mum Karen start up a night club, cause there were no underage places here, and no clubs would take a 17 year old seriously, but Karen knows what it's like to have no one care or take you seriously, and she was looking to expand her business, so we opened Tric. I hope to god it's still there, cause it's amazing, Karen's doing a great job with it, and I love helping her.

'And then there's Lucas... he's _definitely_ not your typical basketball star. If he's not playing, he's most likely reading. I think he's read more books than everyone else I know put together. He's an amazing guy, and we've been together for over three months now, and as strange it may seem, we still haven't slept together but it's not like it's not there, cause it totally is. It's just... not right yet, and we both know it. But I think we're both ready now, and that's a scary feeling, cause it's not just about sex with Lucas, and I've never really done this before. With Nathan, that's all it ever was, and it was easy. But with Lucas... with Lucas it's all new, and scary, and I love it, and I love him, and that's what makes this harder. Cause sex changes things, as corny as it sounds, it does. And this is one relationship I _so_ don't wanna screw up. I've only _really_ known him for a few months, but we've been through so much. I still remember the first time I really saw him... I almost hit him with my car. I was such a bitch then, I didn't even say anything, I just glared at him, cause he was in my way, even though I was the one not paying attention. Good thing I didn't hit him, or else I'd still be a bitch, and I'd still be dating Nathan, who'd still be an ass, and Brooke... well, Brooke's a _whole_ other story.' Peyton let out a nervous breath. She hadn't talked so much in a while, and even though it was just to a camera, she was still unsure about what she was doing.

'So, Brooke's changed a lot over the last few months too, like me. And it's all cause Lucas joined the team. So, I liked Lucas, but I'd just gotten out of my relationship with Nathan, if you could call it that, and I wasn't ready for another _actual_ relationship, and when he told me he wanted everything, I totally freaked, and well, Brooke had been hitting on him since he joined the team, and then they both helped me out one night, and I guess they started talking and hit it off, so when I turned up at his place a few nights later to say I wanted to be with him, there was Brooke. I had to watch them for about a month, and then he and I betrayed her, and it was probably the worst feeling ever, except for when my mum...' She paused briefly, sadness flashing through her eyes before she quickly continued, 'But anyway, the look on her face when she found out... I hated it. I hated being the reason my best friend looked like that. But it's all ok now. Lucas and I started dating eventually, and Brooke and I sorted everything out, and we're stronger than ever. I actually don't think I've been this happy in years, and all because that blue eyed boy joined the basketball team. Thank god he did. Oh, and Nathan and Haley, god I can't believe I forgot them. So yeah, Nathan, my ex and Lucas' younger brother, married Haley, tutor-girl and best friend to Lucas. That was probably the single most shocking thing to happen this year. But as great as it is, I'm worried for Nathan, cause Haley's gone on tour, and he's alone in their apartment, and I know this is something Hales needed to do, but I swear, if she doesn't come home soon, even me yelling at him like I did last night is not gonna help. She's the only one he's gonna listen to, and, despite his protests, he needs her home.' She finished quietly on a sigh, and then paused, staring at the camera awkwardly for a moment before adding, 'Um... so, I guess that's all for me. God, I hope no one listened to that...' She quickly hit the button and fled the room, not realising it was lunch, so she ran straight into someone, and was about to apologise when the person's arms came around her and she felt a quick kiss on her forehead. She grinned.



'Hey you know, I've got a boyfriend.' She said looking up at Lucas. His eyes went wide and he looked around, lifting his fist as if to fight someone.

'Where is he? I'll kick his ass...' She laughed, pulling him in for a kiss. He pulled back quickly, smirking at her. 'What happened to the boyfriend?'

'Oh well, I guess he's not here, so you'll do.' She laughed at the mock-surprised look he gave her.

'So, how was the confessional?' He asked, putting an arm around her waist as they walked off to find their friends.

'Mmm, not too bad. God, Brooke's up next, right?'

'Yeah, who knows what she's gonna say...'

'Or do.' She finished, and they laughed.

'So... you wanna know all about me, huh?' Brooke smirked at the camera in front of her. 'Well, where to start...'

'So, I'm a junior at Tree Hill High, and in 50 years, whoever watches this is probably gonna be about my age, right? Ok, so I'm head cheerleader, and in... 2055, I hope the head cheerleader is doing this team justice. Cause I will so kick some cheerleader but if you're not Sparkle standard, I don't care how old I am.' She laughed at her own stupid joke and smiled for the camera.

'Moving on... well, apart from being head cheerleader, I'm also newly appointed Class President. I don't even know why I decided to run, I just helped out some people and it felt great, so I guess I wanted to help others. So far, it's been good. But I kinda keep waiting for someone to turn around and tell me it was all a mistake, that I didn't actually win, or just kick me out cause I'm bad at it. But that hasn't happened yet, and Peyton, Lucas and Jake keep telling me I'm doing great, and so does Anna. I'm really glad she moved here this year, it's been nice getting to know her. And Jake and Lucas too. I mean, I've grown up in the same town, and gone to the same school as them for years, but I never really knew them before this year. Luke's a great guy, and despite the _incident_ with me and him and Peyton a few months ago, he's never done anything wrong to anyone, and even what happened, it was intentional. He's probably one of the sweetest guys I know, and he's making my P. Sawyer smile again, and just for that I'm so grateful. I didn't think I'd see that happen. I'm beyond ecstatic that things are good between me and Peyton again, she's like a sister to me, and just going a few weeks without her was horrible, but I just couldn't face her. I couldn't look at her and not picture them together, although in hindsight I guess that's what it felt like for her when we were dating...' Brooke trailed off, the seemed to realise she was rambling and quickly smiled.

'Not that any of you in future land really care about my past boy troubles, do you? 50 years huh? God, I don't want to think that far into the future. So, in 50 years, I'll probably be married to someone like Marvin McFadden, you all probably call him Senator McFadden. He's such a sweet guy, and even though I know he hates to hear it, he's probably the nicest guy, no nicest person, I've ever met. He sees me for who I am, you know? Not just a hot body or whatever. You know, speaking of... in 50 years, I'm gonna be all old... there really needs to be some sort of record of my body at its peak...'



Three minutes later, Brooke slipped out of the closet, a grin on her face. _Boy those kids of the future are in for a surprise,_ she thought to herself.

'Hey B. Davis, what are you looking so happy about? Did you do something slutty?' Brooke turned and smiled at her friend.

'I'll never tell.' She said in a sing-song voice, linking her arm with her best friend's. 'Come on P. Sawyer, let's get us to Calculus before Ms Webb has a fit.' They both shuddered at the thought of their Calculus teacher, and hurried down the nearly deserted hallway.

'So you wanna know about me, huh? Not much to tell. You know, up until last night, I had this whole thing planned, this whole spiel about _trust is a lie_, but then last night I got a call that changed my mind. The call was from Haley, my wife, and no, I'm not kidding, we've been married for a few months, but she left a couple of weeks ago, went on tour, and we talked about it all before she left, but I guess I wasn't really all that happy about it. Well, considering what Peyton said, or yelled, at me last night, I _really_ wasn't happy about it considering I've been, how did she put it?? Right, _moping about all day like a freakin' girl with 24/7 PMS, worse than her and Brooke combined_, I believe were her exact words.' Nathan laughed at the memory, smiling to himself. 'So anyway, Hales called last night, and we talked for ages, which we haven't done since she left, and, not to sound all girly and shit, but it was great, I mean, she told me that Peyton and Lucas had told how I'd been acting, and she called me on it, told me I promised to still be myself when she was away, and how she didn't wanna feel guilty for doing this when I said that she should. So, yeah, as much as I was starting to convince myself it is, trust isn't a lie. It's not something I'll give easily, not for a long time, but once you trust someone, it's pretty great. I trust Haley, I trust our marriage, and I guess I just gotta keep reminding myself of that, not let myself end up like my father.' He sighed here, and ran a hand through his hair.

'Speaking of... my father, Dan Scott. God, I hope he's not still a household name in 50 years, that would so suck. He might seem like this great guy, and sure he was the town hero, but the guy's a dick. He's manipulative, and vindictive, and emancipating myself was the best thing I've ever done. Sometimes I think I wish he'd stayed with Karen when she told him she was pregnant, but then Lucas wouldn't be Lucas, and Haley wouldn't be Haley, and I... well, I pretty much would be here. I used to hate Lucas, just cause that's what I thought Dan wanted me to do. And then, as I got older, I was kinda like Dan, and I mocked him cause he was poor, and how Dan didn't want him, he didn't pick him, he picked me and my mum. But, thank god, I got over that. Lucas joined the team, I met Haley, and she didn't take my crap. She called me on it, all the time, more than Peyton ever used to when we dated, and that's one of the reasons I fell in love with her.'

'Hales, in 50 years I hope we're happy, and still together, and we've had kids, little girls with your eyes and smile, and at least one boy to carry on the basketball tradition. But hopefully that'll still be a few years off. I may have gotten married as a Junior, but that by no way means I'm ready to be a father.' He grinned at the camera, and it wasn't forced, he noted to himself. Then he sighed and shook his head. 'God, I can't believe I just said all that... who am I?? I'm seriously turning into a girl, and on that note, I'm gonna leave and just go beat myself up for that...' he was laughing as he stopped the camera, and he stepped out of the closet and came face to face with Lucas. 'Geez! What, are you making sure I didn't hang myself or something?'

'Maybe,' Lucas said, shrugging. 'So, do my ears deceive me, or was Nathan Scott _actually_ laughing?' He asked, raising his eyebrow at his brother.



'It's a possibility.'

'Thank god.' Lucas muttered, and Nathan glared at him.

'What was that?'

'Oh, nothing.' Lucas said, innocence written all over his face, not that Nathan fell for it. But before he got a chance to say anything, Peyton and Brooke came up to them.

'So, what's up?' Brooke asked, noting the smirk on Lucas' face and the glare on Nathan's. 'Oh, are the little girls having a fight?' She asked, and they both turned to glare at her.

'No!' They answered together, and both girls laughed.

'Look, they're twins!' Peyton exclaimed, laughing, and the guys couldn't help it, they joined in, and it wasn't long before Peyton stopped in shock and looked at Nathan. He too stopped laughing when he realised Peyton was staring at him.

'What?' He questioned, and both Lucas and Brooke looked questioningly at her as well.

'He's laughing.' She said softly, then she punched his arm, causing him to step back a little.

'Geez Sawyer, what the hell was that for?'

'Took your sweet ass time to get off your lazy ass and stop being such a girl,' she said, and then she was the one glaring when her three friends laughed at her.

'Hey guys, what's up? Who pissed off Sawyer?' Jake questioned, coming up behind them on his way to the cupboard to record his time capsule. Peyton turned her glare his way, and he held up his hands defensively. 'Hey, don't give me that look, I didn't do anything.'

'Peyton's just angry cause we were laughing at her,' Brooke answered, linking her arm with her best friend. 'So, you got your turn with the camera, right?' She asked Jake, who nodded.

'Yeah, any advice?'

'Yeah, _be yourself man,_' Nathan said in his best girly voice, batting his eyelashes for extra effect.

'So when the time capsule gets opened in 50 years, everyone's gonna think I have a little sister, huh?' Lucas asked, swiftly moving out of the way of Nathan's arm.

'Shut up, dude. Anyway, have fun. Come on guys, let's get lunch, I'm starved.'

'Hey, I'll catch up with you guys in a sec, ok? I just gotta talk to someone.' Brooke excused herself from the group, and took off down the hall before anyone could question her.

'Well, that was odd, even for Brooke.' Lucas commented, and Peyton nodded.

'Oh well, I'm sure we'll find out eventually. She never was one for keeping secrets.'

'True. I'll see you later, my date's waiting,' Jake joked, nodded at the cupboard before he moved towards it.

'Come on, I'm still starving, I'm not getting any less starving standing here.'

'You're also not getting any less annoying, damn.' Peyton said, taking Lucas hand to drag him after Nathan who had started walking away from them, but turned to glare at Peyton, who gave him a smile as she passed, still dragging Lucas behind her.

'So, I'm supposed to tell you about myself. Well, that's a really, really long story. But I guess I can give you the basics. Jake Jagielski, high school junior at Tree Hill High, obviously, member of the Tree Hill Ravens, father of a beautiful baby girl, Jenny. It's really weird, being a father... when I first found out Nikki was pregnant I couldn't believe it, it was so surreal. I wasn't ready to be a father, I wasn't even a junior. But then, it sort of started to grow on me, and the first time I saw Jenny, I was hooked. I was so in love, with Nikki and Jenny and I was so happy about having a little family, but then Nikki decided she wasn't ready to be a mum, so she left town. It took me a while, but I got over it, and now finally my friends know about Jenny, and they're great and everything's going great, and Nikki comes back to town and decides she's ready to be a mum. I was ready to take off, but Brooke, Peyton, Lucas, Haley, even Nathan all convinced me to stay, to fight for my little girl, so that's what I'm doing. I'm staying, and I'm fighting. Of course, I also have my parents, Whitey and even Karen on my side, so I'm just hoping for the best, all though I can't lie, that desire to run, to just pick up and leave with Jenny, is still there. But I think my friends are keeping me grounded, rational.

'Anyway, so besides Jenny, there is of course, basketball, school and my friends...'

'So that's everyone now. You've all recorded your time capsules, and the tape is now secure in the cornerstone and that's where it's gonna stay for 50 years. So you can at least rest easy at the thought that a few of you won't even live here in 50 years, so there'll be no embarrassment for you. The rest of you, well, it's too late to do anything about it now, so, just try to forget it.' Whitey grinned at the class, and Peyton couldn't help but laugh as she looked around. Brooke was smirking, Lucas and Nathan looked sort of relieved, Jake was off in his own world and Anna seemed a little worried. She made a note to ask Brooke about Anna later, she'd noticed they'd been getting on lately.

'Alright Blondie, where's your head at?' Lucas voice made her jump slightly, but she relaxed at almost the same time, turning to smile up at him, welcoming the kiss he placed gently on her lips.

'It's nowhere, I was just trying to figure out what everyone else said in their recordings.'

'Really? And what did you come up with?'

'Well Brooke did something slutty, I'm almost sure of it. You and Nathan most likely talked about family and me and Haley, and you're relieved it's over. Jake, well, he was hard to read, but it sort of seemed like he'd gotten something off his chest, so I'm gonna say he told the future Tree Hill High kids about Jenny, and Anna seemed a little scared, but I'm not sure what that could be about, I'm gonna ask Brooke about it.' She saw Lucas smiling at her. 'What?'

'I love you.' She smiled back, letting the feeling of those words wash over her.

'I love you too.' She forgot about her friends and their problems for a minute and let herself just be with the boy she loved.

a/n: as always, please please please review!! I love it when that happens, and I might just be inclined to write faster to update on of my other stories :D


	9. Chapter 9: Secrets and Taking a Stand

Disclaimer: I wish I owned it, but I don't

A/N: Oh my god!! An update!! I know it's been forever, I've nearly, _nearly_ finished exams, so hopefully I'll have more time now, besides once I have a job, but you know. Anyway, here it is, another chapter.

Chapter 9: Secrets and Taking a Stand

'So today's the day Jake goes to court huh?' Peyton's hand was in Lucas' as he drove her car to school. The time capsule had been filmed a week earlier, and she'd watched as Jake grew increasingly closed off and worried.

'Yeah, my mum's testifying today, me and Brooke are tomorrow.' He told her.

'So why you and Brooke?' She asked, slightly puzzled.

'Well, I'm not entirely sure, but I think it's cause I was the first one to find out about Jenny, and Brooke's been getting pretty close to Jake the last few months, spending time at his house. And of course, my mum is his employer. His parents are testifying today as well.'

'I hope this goes well. That bitch doesn't deserve Jenny.' She felt Lucas' hand squeeze slightly.

'I know. I'm gonna go down this afternoon, listen to my mum testify.' He told her, parking the car.

'Cool, I have some stuff I need to do for THUD, so don't worry about little old me, although I'll definitely be there tomorrow for you and Brooke. Oh, speaking of, I need to talk to her, see you in second?' He pulled her in for a kiss, then let her go, smiling as he headed for his locker. She watched him walk for a minute, forgetting momentarily her goal of finding Brooke. Then the brunette in question walked past her, and she called out after her.

'Brooke!' Brooke stopped and spun when she heard her name, smiling at her friend.

'P. Sawyer, what's up?'

'Oh, not much. But I do have a question for you.'

'Ok, what?'

'Uh... I was just wondering if you've talked to Anna recently?'

'Yeah, why?' Brooke looked confused, looking at her friend.

'Well, I just noticed that she was sort of upset after the time capsule thing, like she wasn't happy with what she said, I was just wondering if she's ok.'

'I don't know, she hasn't been all that talkative, and now that you mention it, she's been avoiding me going over to her house.' Brooke trailed off, lost in thought.

'Well I was just worried,' Peyton said, and Brooke looked up at her, almost absently.

'No, it's good, I'll talk to her today. Hey, I've gotta run, meeting with Turner. See you at lunch!' Brooke called over her shoulder as she hurried off, almost walking straight into a freshman in her hurry, and Peyton stood there laughing.

***************************************************************

'Ms Roe, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God?' the Bailiff's voice rang through the court as Karen sat in the witness seat, hand on the bible in front of her.

'I do,' she replied, looking at Jake, then her son who was sitting in the back of the court room.

'You may sit.' The judge told Karen, and she sat, waiting for Andy's lawyer to stand and begin questioning her.

'Ms Roe, how long have you known the respondent, Jacob Jagielski?'

'I first met Jake 10 years ago when he and my son Lucas played junior league basketball together, but I came to really know him earlier this year when I hired him to work in my cafe part time.'

'And how would you describe him?'

'He's very responsible for a boy his age. He takes on a lot of responsibility, not just with Jenny, but around his house and even at the cafe. Only the day after I hired him, he came to apologise because he didn't think I should have hired him when he couldn't be reliable because of Jenny. I told him it didn't matter, as long as he gave me notice, and I also brought Lucas' old crib into the cafe, so if he ever needed to, he could bring Jenny with him. He's never failed to let me know if he can't come in, or if he brings Jenny it never affects his work.'

'So you would say he's a responsible father?'

'Definitely. I don't know many teenage boys who would give up so much to be a father, and do it so well. There's no such thing as a perfect parent, but I think Jake comes pretty close.' The lawyer nodded and smiled.

'Thank you, that's all.' Now Nikki's lawyer stood.

'Ms Roe, Jake's only worked in your cafe for, what, four months? Now how could you know so much about him in this amount of time?'

'When I hired Jake it wasn't the first time I met him. He was on the basketball team with my son all year, and I know that out of all the team, he was the only one not involved in the 'hazing' of my son.' She saw Lucas over the lawyer's shoulder, watched him sit up in surprise. He hadn't told her about that, but Haley apparently had. 'And I make it a point to get to know the people I employ, and since there are only a few, it's not hard.'

'And all of this makes you think that he should get custody over Jenny's mother, the woman who carried her for 9 months, gave birth to her...?'

'Speaking as a mother, just carrying a child for 9 months doesn't qualify you as a mother, it's what you do when you can actually hold your child in your arms that matters, and I know that Nikki hasn't been here to do that for the past 8 months.'

'And how do you know this Ms Roe?'

'Jake has told me, and so have his parents. I'm a single mother, I know when I'm being lied to, and Jake has no reason to lie to me. He's not vindictive, he wouldn't keep Jenny from Nikki unless he truly thought there was a good reason.' The lawyer seemed to contemplate whether he wanted to push it further, and when he met Karen's eyes, he decided against it.

'That's all,' he said, sitting down. The judge turned to Karen.

'The witness may step down.'

*****************************************************************

'Ok, that looks hard.' Lucas greeted his mother outside the court once the judge had adjourned the case for the day.

'Oh it's not so hard. I just kept looking at Jake and remembering why I was there, and it was easy. Just don't lie, and you'll be fine.' She smiled at her son as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

'Alright, let's get you back to your cafe so we can fill Haley in.'

******************************************************************

Brooke walked down the now-familiar hall of Anna's house and knocked briefly on the closed door before she opened it and stepped into Anna's room. Anna's head shot up from her pillow at the sound, and she seemed to relax and tense up all at the same time when she saw it was Brooke at her door.

'Hey stranger, haven't seen you in a few days.'

'Yeah, I've just been... busy.'

'Yeah? Busy doing what?' Brooke closed the door and made her way over to the bed, and Anna sighed, knowing she wasn't getting out of this until Brooke had the truth.

'A lot of things, you know, school, family, that sort of stuff.' Brooke raised her eyebrow.

'Be vaguer? Come on, I thought you said you could trust me?'

'I know, it's not me not trusting you. I just... I said something on the time capsule that I'm not sure I want on there.'

'But Anna, it's gonna be locked up for the next 50 years. You don't think you'll be ready for people to hear it in 50 years?'

'What if it gets out, Brooke? Before then.'

'It won't. They put it in a wall. Come on, tell me what you said. I won't tell anyone, and it might help to tell someone, other than the future kids of Tree Hill High.'

Anna looked up at Brooke, unsure if she wanted to speak or not. Brooke just stared at her, once again making the face that said she wasn't leaving until she got her answer.

'Alright... just, please, don't freak out. Don't let this change things between us.'

'I promise... just tell me.'

****************************************************************

'Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?'

'I do.' It was Lucas' turn on the witness stand, and he stood left hand on a bible, right raised in the air.

'You may sit.' He glanced at the judge as he sat, before his eyes looked forward to search out his girlfriend. His eyes locked with Peyton's, and she gave him a smile and a nod of the head, and he turned to Jake's lawyer, who now stood before him.

'What is your relationship with the respondent?'

'We go to school together, we're on the basketball team together and he works for my mum.'

'That would be Karen Roe?'

'Yes.'

'And what is your opinion of him?'

'He's a great guy, one of best friends. He doesn't buy into all the high school drama crap a lot of people do. He accepted me when I joined the team, helped me out when the other guys gave me a hard time. He helped me out a few times actually. He'll listen to you, or give you advice, whichever you need. And he's a great father. Not many guys, or girls for that matter, who are our age, would do what he's doing. I asked him once what he felt like the first time he found out Nikki was pregnant, he said he was terrified, he didn't think he was ready, but then he realised that it didn't matter, he _had_ to be ready cause it was his baby and then when he held her for the first time, he couldn't imagine ever letting her go.'

'So you would say he's a great father?'

'Definitely. Nothing comes before Jenny. And you can see it when he looks at her, she's his whole world.'

'And do you know the plaintiff?'

'I have met her, and spoken to her on a couple of occasions, yes.'

'And how did this come about? Did you meet her through Jake?'

'Actually, no, she's shown up at the school a few times, started a fight with one of my friends, Brooke, for no apparent reason, I couldn't tell you. And I've seen her a few times at my mum's club, Tric. She's always drinking when she's there. The first time I didn't know who she was, and she started hitting on me. Later that night I found out who she was, and the next time I saw her, I told the bartender she was underage, and she threw a fit and started trying to kick me, she was removed and banned from coming back.'

'Thankyou.' The lawyer sat, and Lucas braced himself as Nikki's lawyer stood to take his place.

'So what makes you such a good judge of fathers? I mean, considering you didn't have one growing up.' Lucas had to suppress the urge to punch the lawyer, knowing it wouldn't help anyone. Instead, he took a deep breath and looked the lawyer right in the eye before speaking.

'Well, growing up without my real dad, I'd say I'm well equipped to say a father who is present in his child's life is a good father. And I see in Jake what I see in my Uncle Keith, the man who was, _is_, basically my father.' The lawyer seemed to process this before taking another tactic.

'So Lucas, when did you learn that Jake had a daughter?'

'That would be nearly 4 months ago now. Basketball practice was cancelled, so I went to see if he want to shoot around with me, and I thought he was brushing me off, so he took me inside and introduced me to his daughter.'

'So he kept her a secret? He was ashamed?'

'No. I asked him that same question. He said he wanted to protect her, so I told him that my mum did a similar thing and I always wondered. I told him he didn't want Jenny growing up with that feeling.' He paused here, and caught his mother's eyes in the crowd, tears forming in them. 'That night, Jake brought Jenny into the Cafe, for the open mic night, and introduced her to everyone. Once again, it was obvious to everyone there that he would do anything to keep her safe.' Once again, the lawyer seemed to contemplate his options, and asked one last question.

'Mr Scott, you stated earlier that you first met my client at your mother's club, can you tell me what you were doing there?'

'She has all ages nights, and you have a wristband if you have provided ID, which obviously I never have, being underage and the son of the owner.'

'And you told the bartender my client was underage the second time you saw her in the club?'

'Yes. The first time I met her, I was talking to my friend Brooke and I pointed her out because I thought it was amusing, since she was coming on pretty strong, and Brooke recognised her, but she was leaving as we realised who she was. A few days later, I was there picking up something for my mum, she was busy at the cafe, and I saw her again, so I told the bartender that she was underage.'

'Mr Scott, have you ever used a fake ID?'

'Yes, once a few months ago, before my mum opened her club. But not since that night, and especially not since my mum opened her club.'

'And how do you know that my client was using a fake ID?' Lucas almost smirked. Nikki really hadn't picked a smart lawyer, he was digging a nice hole for her.

'Because I had talked to Jake about the mother, and I knew she'd gone to school with us, the year before. And since she'd entered the club as over 21, and she could only be, at most, 19 or 20, she had to have a fake ID.' He entered a brief staring contest with the lawyer, who finally seemed to give up.

'That's all you honour.'

'The witness may step down.'

The first thing Lucas did once he was out was find his mum. He saw her, tears still present and pulled her into a hug.

'I'm so sorry you had to hear that mum, I know it's not true, it's never been true.'

'You know I've always loved you, I've never been ashamed of you.'

'I know, I never doubted that you loved me, and I'm sorry for feeling that you were ashamed of me.' He pulled back, wiped the tears off her face. 'God, I hate making you cry.' He pulled her back into another hug. 'I'm really, really sorry.' She started laughing at his tone; he sounded like he did when he was 9 and he broke the new vase Keith had given her for Christmas the day before.

'It's fine Lucas, don't worry about it. I think you really helped Jake today. That's what matters.' He smiled down at her; of course she was thinking about someone else. He looked up and saw Peyton coming towards them.

'Hey you.'

'Hey, you did good. You ok Karen?' Karen laughed, embarrassed.

'Oh, I'm fine. Well, I have to get back to the Cafe. You two staying here to listen to Brooke?' They nodded.

'Alright, well get back to school afterwards, maybe you can get to at least one class today.' She gave Lucas a quick kiss on the cheek, laid her hand on Peyton's shoulder, and headed out of the Court House.

*************************************************************

Lucas and Peyton made their way back inside, sitting in the back row just as Brooke came in and took her place on the stand. She looked a little worried, and as she glanced around the room, Peyton gave her a smile, and she smiled back, trying to relax.

She stood in the same position as Lucas had earlier, one hand raised, the other on a bible.

'Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?'

'I do.' She responded.

'You may sit.' She sat as Jake's lawyer rose, coming around the table to look at her.

'What is your relationship with the respondent?'

'We're friends, we've known each other for years. I'm a cheerleader, he's a basketball player, we have a lot of friends in common, and since the start of the year, we've gotten closer.'

'And you've seen him interact with his daughter?'

'Yes.'

'And how would you describe him as a father?'

'He's great. There are two different types of parents, as a large, general rule. Those who are in their kids' lives, whether physically or emotionally and those who aren't. Jake is in his daughter's life, physically and emotionally. At 17, he's doing a better job than a lot of our parents. He loves Jenny, and she loves him.'

'And do you know the plaintiff?'

'I've met her a few times. I first met her at a bar. I was, in a pretty bad place, fighting with friends and whatnot, and so I went out to drown my troubles in alcohol. There was Nikki. She said that you shouldn't wait until it was too late to go back, ask for forgiveness and stuff. I didn't know she was Jenny's mum until the next day, I stopped by Jake's for some advice, there she was.'

'Early today, Lucas Scott testified that the plaintiff came to your school and started a fight with you, is that correct?'

'Yes, it is.'

'Can you tell us exactly what happened?'

'It was lunch, I was out in the quad with my friend Peyton. We'd been released early from class, so there weren't a lot of people around yet, just a few random people. Anyway, we were sitting there talking, when she just came up to us. Started spouting off about it was great that me and Jake were such great friends, but Jenny already had a mother, and she didn't need another one, and I so I told her that maybe Jenny wouldn't need me hanging around if she actually knew who her mother was. Then she slapped me, so I hit her back, then she jumped me. She's vicious. My friend Peyton had to drag her off me, but she couldn't actually do it until Lucas arrived and helped her. Then I told her she should get out of my sight before I got really angry, and by this time, there were more people in the quad, so she left.'

'So she came up to you and started a fight, simply because you are in Jake's life?'

'Yes.'

'That's all, thank you.' Brooke smiled at the lawyer, but it quickly fell as Nikki's lawyer stood.

'So, you first met my client at a bar?'

'That's correct.'

'Tell me Miss Davis, what were you doing at a bar?'

'Like I said, I was trying to drown my sorrows in alcohol, and yes, I did have a fake ID, which has since been confiscated.'

'So you are condemning my client for doing the same thing as you?'

'Well to be honest, yes, but then I'm not the one trying to get custody of my daughter. If I had a daughter, I wouldn't be spending my time at a bar getting drunk, particularly not if I was trying to get back into my daughter's life.'

'And my client, when she came to see you, said you told her that her daughter wouldn't need you as a mother if she was in her life?'

'That's correct.'

'So you see yourself as a mother figure to Jenny, is that perhaps why you don't want my client to gain custody? Because you yourself don't want to lose Jenny?'

'No. I said that because she was making me mad. We all try and act as a mother figure to Jenny, to help Jake, but none of us would try to become her mother, it's not our place, and Jake wouldn't let us. As much as we don't like it, Nikki is her mother, and if, in the future Jenny decides she wants Nikki in her life, Jake won't stop her. But now, at this point in time, I don't blame Jake for trying to protect his daughter from her.'

'What do you mean protect her from my client?'

'I mean that sometimes, the best thing a parent can do for a child is leave them be. Sometimes an absent parent is better than an unreliable one who can let you down.'

'My client admits she has made mistakes in the past, the greatest being leaving Tree Hill after the birth of her daughter. But she is back, doesn't that indicate to you that she is trying to change?'

'Well, it might if she wasn't spending her time at bars, or getting into fights with people in high schools.' The lawyer glared at her, trying to find something to say, but apparently couldn't as he turned away from her.

'That's all your honour.'

'The witness may step down. That concludes the witnesses for the defence, thank you. We will have a brief recess before the defence and prosecution give their final statements.'

********************************************************************

'B Davis!' Brooke turned around to find Peyton running to catch up with her.

'Hey P Sawyer, what's up?'

'You were awesome in there, that lawyer didn't know what to say.' Brooke shrugged and smiled.

'That's what happens when you come up against Brooke Davis.' Peyton laughed, shaking her head at her friend.

'It sure is, and I'm sure he won't make that mistake again.'

'So did you have a chance to talk to Anna?' Brooke froze slightly, but thankfully Peyton didn't notice.

*flashback*

'_Alright... just, please, don't freak out. Don't let this change things between us.'_

'_I promise... just tell me.' Anna took a deep breath, and closed her eyes._

'_I said I was bisexual...'_

'_So?' Brooke asked, eyebrow raised. 'That's it? I thought you were gonna tell me you'd killed someone at your old school or something.' Anna laughed, her face relaxing as Brooke lay down next to her. Anna lay down too, turning to face her._

'_So you're really not freaked?'_

'_Why would I be? It's not like it makes you a freak or something, it's perfectly normal. Why? Who's told you different?' Anna looked away, not wanting to make eye contact._

'_No one,' she whispered softly._

'_Anna...' She put her hand on Anna's, and she turned back and stared at Brooke. Before she knew what was going on, Anna leant over and placed a small kiss on Brooke's mouth. She pulled away, looking shocked at herself. 'I like boys...' Brooke stated, and Anna smiled._

'_I know, that wasn't me coming on to you or anything, don't worry, it was a thank you.'_

'_A thank you?'_

'_For being so nice to me.'_

'_What can I say? I'm nice to people I like.'_

'_I like you too Brooke Davis, you're a good friend.'_

_They laughed, neither noticing the angry boy in the doorway._

*end flashback*

'Brooke, you there?'

'Huh? Oh yeah.'

'So what'd Anna say?'

'Oh, she was just worried about some things she said about Felix on the time capsule, she's worried what'll happen if it gets out before it's supposed to.'

'Well anything she said about him, I'm sure he deserved.' Brooke laughed and nodded in agreement.

'Come on P Sawyer, I think the lawyers have to make their little statement thingies.'

***************************************************************

The next morning, Brooke and Anna were walking down the hallways of the school, talking.

'So friend, I have to say, that kiss last night was definitely better than some others I've had over my years.' She said softly.

'Really? You, Brooke Davis, think my kiss is better than all the others?'

'Oh yeah, first you haven't had a bad kiss until Tim has come up to you when you're both drunk and basically attack you with his mouth. And I've had a few others that were pretty bad.'

'Good to know.'

'Yeah, and it's definitely the best kiss I've had from a girl.' Anna just looked at her, and she shrugged.

'I used to play a lot of spin the bottle, what can I say?' She smirked, as they stopped at her locker, but the smirk quickly disappeared as she saw what was written on her locker.

'What's wrong... oh my god.' Anna asked, looking from Brooke's face to her locker. 'Who would write that?' Anna couldn't believe what she was seeing. On Brooke Davis' locker, in bright red paint, was the word _Dyke_. She looked around the hallway, until something caught her eye. 'I should've known...' she whispered softly, before turning back to Brooke who was still staring at her locker. 'You know what Brooke, let's skip first period, go to the courthouse and hear the verdict for Jake's case.' She took hold of Brooke's arm, leading the still shocked girl away from her locker, stopping only briefly to tell Bevin to go to Principal Turner's office to tell him what had happened.

**************************************************************

Twenty minutes later, the courthouse was full and the small group of friends, and Karen, were seated behind Jake, waiting for the judge to come out to give his verdict.

'All rise for the honourable Judge Bailey.' Everyone rose, and the judge came in. 'Everyone be seated.'

The judge looked over the people in the room, and at Nikki and Jake, taking a deep breath before speaking.

'I see a lot of cases come through this court room, and I've see a lot, but it's rare that I see a 17 year old boy fighting for a daughter he's raised almost on his own for a year. It's also rare to not see a multitude of insults being slung back and forth, particularly in people so young. At the same time, it's impossible to ignore the facts that have been laid out here in this court. Many judges have difficulty taking custody away from a mother without absolute proof it's a danger for a child, and I often have that problem myself, but as in all cases, I must come to a decision that will be best for the child, and today's case was certainly hard. But I have come to my decision. Please rise for the verdict.'

Nikki, Jake and their lawyers stood, Jake turning around to look at Jenny, who sat safely in his mum's arms. His friends and family all gave him a smile and he turned back around, ready to hear the judge's decision.

A/N: ok, so this is the second last chapter. The next one's it. I was going to keep going, but I've sort of lost it a little, so I'm going to stop at the end of the next chapter, but I might pick it up again in the future, we'll see. Anyway, let me know what you think.


	10. Chapter 10: Fixing Things

Disclaimer: I don't own it...I wish I did though, I could use the money :D

A/N: Oh my GOD!! An update!! And not just any update, the final update for the story! Yes, it's over... for now, at least. I'm SOOO sorry it's taken so long, I have no excuse, considering school finished months ago, but I just couldn't figure out how to end it, and with the stress of finishing high school and waiting for results and finding out if I got into uni... well, I now have the year ahead of me, no school, thank god, so hopefully I'll be able to keep up with my updates. Anyway, enough of me rambling... without further ado, here it is... the end...

Chapter 10: Fixing Things

Knock, knock.

Haley looked up from the guitar she had been strumming aimlessly at the sound of someone at her hotel door. Looking at the clock, she was surprised that someone was here to see her this late at night. She placed her guitar on the bed and made her way to the door, pausing to look through the peephole, and she squealed when she saw her best friend on the other side. She threw open the door and launched herself into his arms.

'Lucas Eugene Scott! What are you doing here?'

'Visiting my bestest buddy in the whole world clearly. You wouldn't happen to know where she is would you? She's about your height, she used to have straight brown hair, goes by the name Haley James, I mean, Haley James-Scott.' She smacked his arm before dragging him into her room.

'I can't believe you came up here! What about school?'

'Oh, it's still there. Actually, speaking of, before I forget, here's the final English assignment. Figured I'd bring it up to you since I was coming anyway.' He pulled out the paper with the information on it from his small bag and handed it to her.

'Oh god, I forgot about school, it all just seems like another life time, you know?' She took the paper from him, scanning it before putting on the table. 'Come on, sit, tell me what's been happening, what've I missed? How is everyone?' He didn't miss the silent question of h_ow's Nathan_ as they sat on the bed.

'Oh, well, you missed the time capsule thing, but that was a little while ago I guess, so maybe you already knew about that.' He saw the confused look on her face and laughed. 'Maybe not. So we all had to film this short, 5 minute thing about ourselves, while locked in a closet in the school and it'll be released in 50 years. Actually, it was the time capsule that had Nathan laughing for the first time since you left, he came out with this weird half smile thing, until of course Peyton started yelling at him for being a girl and taking so long to snap out of his funk.' Haley smiled, picturing the scene in her head.

'So he's doing ok? I mean, we speak on the phone and everything, but still, sometimes I not sure that he means it when he says he's fine.'

'He's doing better. He misses you, we all do, but Peyton and Brooke have been keeping him occupied, keeping his mind off being sad as much as possible, and you know those two, when they set their minds to something they do it. Dan's been giving him a hard time, I found them outside the school a few days ago, Nathan looked just about ready to knock him out when I dragged him out of there.'

'What happened?' Lucas saw the immediate concern for Nathan on Haley's face and smiled.

'Don't worry, it was just Dan being an ass, although even for Dan this was kinda assier than usual. He came up to Nathan between classes and gave him annulment papers to sign and then send to you.' Catching the look on Haley's face, he quickly added 'they were in quite a few small pieces on the ground and Dan by the time I got there Hales, don't worry. Nathan's no way near ready to give up on you yet.'

'Alright, we've established Nathan's good, so what about my best friend? How are things in the land of Lucas? Or should I being calling it the land of Lucas and Peyton since you two never seem to be apart anymore.'

'Very funny, she's not here right now is she?' Haley looked around the room as if trying to spot her.

'Well, you never know... I wouldn't be surprised.'

'Actually, she and Brooke commandeered your husband, _again_ I might add to go celebrate with them.'

'Celebrate? What are they celebrating?'

'They're all over at Jake's house, he got full custody of Jenny, Nikki only got supervised visits once a fortnight, so everyone's at Jake's tonight.'

'That's so great, he must be so happy. Wait, how come if they're all celebrating your all the way up here in New York with me?'

'Cause I missed my best friend and Jake understands. You know him, he probably would've preferred to spend the night at home alone with Jenny, enjoying the fact that he knows he has her to keep safe but no one can say no to Brooke Davis, I think it's like physically impossible.'

'I know what you mean. So seriously though, how are things with you and Peyton? Since your smiling and laughing and not doing any sort of impression of the living dead, I'm assuming you're still together?'

'Yeah, we're still together, she has felt the need to get rid of me yet.' He had his almost self-deprecating smile as he ran his hand through his hair.

'Oh shut up, after all the stuff you two went through to get together, there is _no_ way that girl is letting you go any time soon. So stop brooding, _broody_ and tell me about our other friend, the lovely Brooke Davis. You know she'd be upset to know you left her for last.'

'Oh, but if she ever found out I'd just tell her that I had to get all the boring stuff about everyone else out of the way to clear the path for the much more interesting news about her.'

'You're such a smooth talker Lucas, but seriously, how is she?'

'It's hard to tell. This morning at school, before the end of the trial, Brooke found her locker with the word _dyke_ written on it in bright red paint. She's been acting like it's no big deal, but I know it's hurting her. I just can't figure out who'd do that to Brooke, I mean, most people love her, especially since she's become Student Body President. It just doesn't make sense. Maybe Peyton'll get something out of her tonight.' He sighed, he didn't like seeing any of his friends hurt, and when it was his girlfriend's best friend and it hurt her too it was worse. He hated seeing Peyton in pain.

'She'll be ok, Luke. She's got all of you, and Peyton, she'll be ok.'

'Listen to you, you've been all across America on tour, and yet you can still roll out the advice sounding like a mother.'

'Eh, some things never change.'

'So tell me about the tour.'

***********************************************************

'Hey Nate.'

'Jake, how're you feeling? Full custody, that's great man.' Jake smiled and looked back at where Peyton and Brooke had commandeered Jenny.

'Yeah, I was so sure that she was going to win somehow, god I don't think I've been happier then when that judge said I had full custody, except the day Jenny was born.'

'Oh god, you know I don't know what I'd do if Haley was pregnant, I'm so not ready to be a father yet, I don't know how you do it.'

'Oh, I was scared out of my mind when Nikki told me she was pregnant, and I think I spent the next 7 months paranoid about the arrival of Jenny, but then I saw her and held her and everything changed. But I guess you don't have to worry about that right now, do you?'

'No.' Nathan replied softly, looking away from Jenny and down at the table.

'You know she's coming home, Nate. Actually, I talked to her the other day...'

'_Hey Haley.'_

'_Jake? Jake Jagielski is that you?'_

'_Sure is Miss Rock Star Haley James-Scott. So, how's life on the road treating you? Made lots of new friends yet?' Haley laughed and he pictured her shaking her head at him._

'_Oh it's all right you know. There are lots of great people out here, everyone's great...'_

'_But...?' He prompted._

'_You read people far too well Jake. I miss you, I miss everyone...'_

'_Especially Nate?'_

'_See, reading me again.' There was a pause, and this time he waited for her to say what she wanted. 'How is he? I mean, I speak to him and Lucas tells me he's doing ok when we talk but...'_

'_You just wanna make sure? He's good Hales, he is. He misses you like crazy, but he wants you to be happy, and so he's happy that you're happy. But I think he is counting down the days until you come home.'_

'_Some days, I just wanna say to hell with this and jump on the first plane home, just to see him, to hold him. Do you think I'm being selfish? The last part came out so softly he barely caught it._

'_No Hales, I think this is an amazing opportunity for you, and Nate knows that. Just enjoy it, don't forget about us little folk down in Tree Hill, and when you've done what you need to, come home.'_

'_Thanks Jake.'_

'_Well, I gotta go, Jenny's awake.'_

'_Well give that little cutie a kiss for me, will ya? And good luck, I know you're in the middle of everything with Nikki right now, so thanks for listening, and I wish I could be there.'_

'_Thanks Hales. Talk to you later, now go have fun.'_

'_Bye.'_

'How did she sound?'

'She asked me if I thought she was being selfish, doing this, following her dream.'

'Of course she's not. I mean, sure, I wish her dream didn't take her so far away from here and from me, but if it's making her happy...'

'That's what I told her, but I don't really think I'm the one she needs to hear it from.' Nathan looked up at him, and he shrugged, before turning and heading back towards Jenny and the girls. Nathan watched him pick up Jenny, holding her close to him and sighed. He really needed to see Haley.

***************************************************************************

'Hello?' Brooke answered her cell on the fourth ring, wondering who would be calling her this late, almost midnight she noted, turning to look at the clock next to her bed.

'Hey Brooke, it's Anna.'

'Anna, is everything ok?'

'Yeah, sorry for the late call, but I had to tell you something, I couldn't get a hold of you earlier.'

'Yeah, sorry, we were all over at Jake's, celebrating you know.'

'Oh yeah, I'm really happy for him, from what I can tell, Nikki's a bitch.'

'You got that right, were you there the day she tried to start a fight with me at the school? She's nuts. I don't know how she thought that was gonna help her cause when she was in the middle of a custody battle, but you know.'

'She came to school and picked a fight with you? Where was I?'

'I have no idea... so anyway, what were you calling to tell me?'

'Oh... uh, about this morning, with your locker...'

'Oh...yeah. What about it?'

'Well, I know who did it.'

'Who...no.'

'Yeah, it was Felix. Brooke, I'm so sorry, I never thought he'd do something like that. I confronted him about it this afternoon, and he was saying something like better they all thought it was you, not me, and how I should be careful about who I kissed, anyone could see me. I think he saw us the other day, and with you rejecting him... I'm so sorry.'

'Hey, it's not your fault. I don't think either of us could've predicted your brother doing _this_. But are you sure you're ok? Cause I mean, when he wrote that, it wasn't really directed at me, it was kinda directed at you.'

'Yeah, I know. That's why after I told Principal Turner it was Felix, I told my parents, and I told them why.'

'You did what?'

'I told them. Everything. I told them what Felix did, and when they asked why, I told them about me, what Felix saw, all of it, although I did make sure to add in the fact that you are not, in any way my girlfriend, or gay.'

'Well thanks for that, but how did they take it?'

'Surprisingly, they were fine. My mum just said whoever makes me happy, they like, no matter which pair of chromosomes they have. My dad, well, he just hugged me, then went to yell at Felix.'

'Well I bet that would've been fun, sorry I missed it.'

'Yeah, I gotta tell you, after some of the shit Felix has pulled, I almost pulled out the popcorn to add to the moment.'

'Wish I could've been there.'

'Well, there is the possibility I got some of it on film.'

'No way! Alright, I'll be over bright and early to see that.'

'Actually, speaking of, my parents want you to come over for breakfast, sort of to meet you and apologise all in one. And they said it's about time they met one of my friends.'

'Alright, you've got yourself a deal. I'll see you tomorrow, and if you want me to get up at a reasonable time I've gotta get some sleep.'

'Same. Alright, see you tomorrow.'

Brooke put her phone back on the table next to her, and rolled over trying to get comfortable, but all the while with a grin on her face. Felix might have painted dyke on her locker, but it sounded like he was getting his, and if there was one thing Brooke believed in it was paying for your sins, especially if you were someone like Felix who just didn't seem to give a damn about who they were hurting.

*********************************************************************

'Hey baby, you coming home soon?' Lucas smiled into the phone as he zipped up his bag.

'I'm just getting ready to leave. How was last night? Everyone ok?'

'Yeah, Jake's still on cloud nine I think, Nate was, well he was pretty quiet, especially after Jake talked to him, and Brooke's doing better I think. I talked to her this morning, really early I might add, and she sounded really... chipper, considering. She said she had some news for all of us later but she wanted to tell us all together, and she had somewhere to be. What she was up, let alone going out, at 9:00 on a Saturday I have no idea, but she's Brooke. Trying to figure her out is a waste of time.'

'I won't argue with you there. So, I'll be in the car in about 15 minutes, if you let me go finish packing and saying bye to Hales.' She laughed.

'Alright, I'm going, geez I've never heard you so eager to get rid of me, in person or on the phone.'

'Well, if you look at it from my point of view, the quicker you get off the phone, the quicker I can get in my car and come home, to you, and see you, face to face.'

'Keep talking...'

'Well, I can't exactly kiss you through the phone, now can I? Or touch you...'

'Smooth talker, alright I'm going, you just get that cute butt of yours in your car and get back here.'

'You think my butt is cute?' He asked grinning.

'Oh god, dude shut up and go get in the car.'

'Yes ma'am. You know I never knew you had this side to you...' he laughed as he heard the dial tone coming through the phone. He flipped it shut and pushed it back into his pocket.

'Peyton?' He turned to see Haley watching him with a smile.

'Yeah, she's waiting for me to come home, apparently Brooke has something to tell us, but wants us all there, not that she's home right now anyway, she's out somewhere.'

'Brooke Davis out at 9:30 on a Saturday morning?'

'Yeah, I know, it's like a parallel universe or something.'

'So, I guess this is it, huh?'

'I guess so. It was way too long Hales, I've missed having you around.'

'You too. Come on, I'll walk you to your car.' They made their way downstairs and into the car park in silence. Lucas unlocked the car and put his stuff before turning back to Haley.

'So I guess this is it, huh?' Lucas said, echoing her earlier words making her smile.

'Yeah, I guess so.'

'Don't be a stranger. Have fun, do this for as long as you need, and then come home, ok?'

'Ok.'

'Come here.' He held open his arms, and she moved into them and he held her. 'Hey, it's gonna be alright.'

'What if he doesn't want me to come back? What if I wait too long and he doesn't want me to come back?'

'Shh... he's always gonna want you to come back, don't ever think otherwise, alright? And you know what, if for some strange, unknown reason he didn't, I would. I will always want you to come home Hales, alright?' She looked up and smiled, nodding. 'Alright, I have to go, call me?'

'I will.' She watched as he got in his car, pulled out, waved and headed towards the exit. He made it as far as the final barrier blocking his exit when he heard his name and looked into his rearview mirror to see Haley running up behind his car. He turned, rolling his window down and sticking his head out to see her properly.

'Hales...?'

'I'm coming home with you Luke.'

***************************************************************

'So did you find out anything else about what happened after your dad yelled at Felix?' Brooke asked as they sat on Anna's bed, waiting for breakfast to be ready.

'Well, no, but I haven't seen or heard from him all morning, he hasn't left his room, no music playing, nothing. It's weird, but I guess I'll find out soon enough.'

'Anna, Brooke, breakfast is ready.' The sound of Anna's mum's voice carried up the stairs and through the open door.

'Better not keep them waiting, huh?' Anna smiled at Brooke.

'Come on. You're only bubble cause they're not your parents, I bet you'd be singing a completely different tune if this was your house.'

'Well, lucky for me, my parents seem to forget half the time that they even have a child, so I've never really had to bring anyone home to meet them, friends or otherwise.'

'Wow, I don't think I'd like that. I mean, my parents can be annoying, but at least I know they care.'

'Yeah, so many people think it's awesome, you know, I'm able to do whatever I want, but I'd trade all that for a mum I could talk to, or a dad who'd demand to meet a boy who was taking me out. But that's alright. Peyton always leant me hers. Is it horrible of me to say I don't think I'd cry as much if my mum or dad died as I did when Anna Sawyer died, or I would cry if Larry died. Does that make me a bad child?'

'No, I think it reflects on who are your true parents, the ones who influenced you the most. You _parents_ might have given birth to you, but other than that, they have no real claim to you, how you are as a person. Now, we really have to go to breakfast.' Anna smiled at Brooke as she stood, pulling her friend with her.

'Thanks. You know, if I was into girls, you'd totally be my number one choice to date.'

'Really?' Anna asked with a smile, and Brooke returned the favour with her own dimpled smile.

'Sure. You're sweet, funny, a good kisser, not to mention hot. Any girl would be lucky to have you.'

'Thanks Brooke.' Brooke shrugged and grinned.

'No problem. Now, if I could only meet a guy like you...'

'Oh don't worry, I'm sure you will one day, although I don't know if you'll ever find someone who's as good of a kisser as I am.' Anna said, causing Brooke to laugh as they made their way down the stairs.

'Brooke, I'm glad you could join us. Come, sit down.'

'Thanks for inviting me. I can't remember the last time I sat down for a full meal at breakfast, or any meal really.'

'You never eat with your family?'

'Well, I guess with school the last few years, everything's gotten so hectic and my father's work takes him all over the country, and my mother likes to accompany him, but Luke's mum has made us dinner a few times in the last few months, that's been nice.'

'Luke?'

'Lucas Scott, mum, he's one of the basketball players, his brother's Nathan, Felix didn't like them.' She added the last bit softly and with a bit of anger in her voice.

'Oh, yes Lucas. His mum owns the cafe and the new club, am I correct?' her mum asked, and she nodded, smiling.

'Yeah, that's him. His mum, Karen, she sort of acts as a surrogate parent to all of us.'

'All of you?' Anna's father asked, looking over at Brooke.

'Well, she's always been like a second mother to Haley, Lucas' best friend, but when her parents moved away after she married Nathan, she's been in that role a bit more, and Nathan's mum is great but she's been going through trouble with his and Lucas' father and I guess she's sort of neglected Nathan, plus she wasn't all that supportive of their marriage, and Peyton and I, well, Peyton's mum was like a mum to both of us, and I guess it's been so long since she died we both sort of forgot what it was like to have someone caring about where we were, who we were with, until Lucas came into our lives.' She took a breath and looked up at Anna's parents, who were looking at her stunned.

'This certainly is an interesting town. Nathan, Lucas' brother, married his best friend?'

'Yeah, a few months ago.'

'And Nathan is Lucas' older brother?'

'Actually, younger. I think by about 3 or 4 months, so they're in the same year at school.' She noted their confused looks. 'Dan Scott is their dad, Lucas' mum is Karen and Nathan's mum is Deb. They weren't really friends or on any sort of speaking terms, mainly because of Dan, until earlier this year when Lucas joined the basketball team, which I honestly think was the best thing to happen to the three of us, me, Peyton and Nathan. I've never seen them happier, or at least in Peyton's case, this happy since Anna Sawyer was alive.'

'Well, we will definitely have to meet this woman, and all your friends'

'Why don't you come to dinner tonight at Karen's Cafe, most of the gang should be there, and if they weren't planning on it, I can get them there. Plus, I can guarantee you'll get a great meal.'

'Sounds great, we'll be there.'

'Brooke, I'm pretty sure Anna would have told you the other reason we invited you over, other than to meet you of course.' Brooke smiled and nodded.

'She did, and I just wanted to say that you guys don't need to explain anything to me, or apologise for his actions, if and when he wants to do that, I might listen, but he was the one who did it, and like I said to Anna, since I'm not gay and I know that, it wasn't really me he was attacking. I'm not really the one he owes an apology to.' She looked over at Anna before looking at her parents. 'But thank you.'

'Well, you're welcome. Alright, enough of that talk, Brooke, tell us more about this town. We've been here for a few months, but I can see I'm still out of the loop with all the small town gossip.' Brooke smiled; small town gossip was something she was excellent at.

*******************************************************************

'Alright Nathan, since Lucas is still at least a few hours away, and Brooke is out and Jake probably wants to spend some quality time with Jenny, and I'm _really_ bored, you and I are going to the River court.' Peyton announced, walking into his apartment.

'What?' He asked, looking up from the book he was reading... book?

'We're going to the River court, is that a book?' He looked down, and back up.

'Yeah.' She raised an eyebrow. 'What? I do read.'

'Uh huh, we dated for like, 2 years and I never once saw you read anything without pictures.'

'Alright, so since I started dating Haley I read. I just don't do it all that often. I still prefer things with pictures.' He said grinning.

'Alright, so I've learnt my new thing for the day, let's go. I haven't seen you shooting around for fun in ages and I'm sick of drawing my bedroom.'

'Miss Lucas huh?'

'Am I that obvious?'

'Well you're complaining about being sick of drawing your bedroom, and he's only been gone like, less than a day, plus you used to be able to draw whatever you wanted in your room.' She glared at him, and he laughed. 'Alright, I'm coming.'

15 minutes later she pulled her car up next to the court and they got out. Peyton made her way to the seats to watch and draw, while Nathan took his spot on the court and started shooting. They'd been there nearly half an hour, in silence, when Peyton's phone rang, and after a quick conversation with Lucas she looked up at Nathan.

'He'll be home in an hour, and he said he has a surprise, he wouldn't tell me what it was.' Nathan laughed at her pout and sulky tone.

'Well, it wouldn't be much of a surprise if he told you what it was, now would it?' He asked, laughing.

'Shut up. So, are you ok that he went to visit Haley?' He shrugged and shot the ball through the hoop.

'Don't be evasive, mister. Remember, 2 years, I know all your moves. You used to get like this about Dan, so don't avoid, cause I'll just keep asking.' She had set her pad aside by now, and he didn't make a move to go after the ball, he just stood in the middle of the court.

'I just, wish I'd thought to go. I mean, I did think about it, but I never actually did it. I should've gone to see her.'

'You know Lucas though, it's a little easier for him cause she's just his best friend, not his _wife_. But I mean, you've talked to her, right?'

'Yeah, but I guess she's not telling me everything.'

'What do you mean?'

'Jake told me last night that he spoke to her, and she asked him is she was being selfish. She's never asked me that, I mean, I'm her husband, shouldn't she be asking me these thing, telling _me_ when she's worried or scared or...'

'You know she _wants_ to ask you, but sometimes, it's easier to ask someone who's not in as deep as you are, I mean, look, she asked Jake, who she's kinda close with, but not you or even Luke, her best friend. She was probably looking for an impartial person who she didn't think would lie to appease her, or on the other hand possibly make her feel horrible. What are you really worried about?'

'God, how do you and Brooke do that?'

'It's a gift, so tell me.'

'She just, always sounds so happy when we talk, happier than I ever heard when...'

'When she was here? With you? Nate, that's just all the excitement of finally doing something she never thought she would, or _could_ do. You know she's coming home. She just needs to do this, have the satisfaction of knowing she can and that she did and then she's coming home to you. Speaking of doing something you really want, did you decide to go to High Flyers?'

'God, everyone really does know everyone else's business in a small town, don't they?'

'Yep. Now spill.'

'I don't know, I'm thinking I might, especially with Hales away on the tour, it might be good to have something to focus on for the summer.'

'That's great Nate. I think it'll be a good distraction for you, get your mind off thinking stupid things like Haley's not coming home, and make the time pass quicker until the tour's over. So in a week, you're gonna go to that camp, you're gonna have 3 months of fun and when you come home, Haley's gonna come home too and next year, well, everything'll be different and back to normal and good again.'

'Wow, listen to the upbeat, cheery words coming out of Peyton Sawyer.'

'Alright dude, that's enough. Go play, I have a picture to finish.'

***************************************************************

'Luke, what if he doesn't want to see me? This was crazy, stop the car, turn around, just take me back to New York.' Lucas looked over at his best friend, who was staring out the front window.

'Hales, first, shut up, second, of course he wants to see you, and sorry but we're already here, no way am I driving you all the way back to New York, it took us like 4 hours to get here, so just relax, take a deep breath and look out the window.' Haley followed his hand and saw Nathan shooting hoops, Peyton on the seats drawing. She forgot to breath for a second as she watched him play. Then Lucas started driving forward and pulled up alongside Peyton's car. By this time, Peyton and Nathan had noticed the car, but not the passenger.

'Lucas!' they heard Peyton's voice, and Lucas smiled, getting out of the car to catch her as she jumped into his arms.

'Hey Blondie, I missed you.'

'I missed you too. Next time you disappear to visit your best friend you take me with you, ok?'

'Ok. But that won't be any time soon.'

'And why's that?'

'I told you I brought back a surprise.' He said, looking towards the car, where neither of their friends had noticed Haley had exited the car and was now standing nervously next to it, watching Nathan, who only spotted her when Peyton and Lucas looked in that direction.

'Hales...?' He said softly, which didn't stop Haley from hearing it.

'Hey,' she replied, just as softly, while Peyton and Lucas watched the two stare at each other in silence, before Haley launched herself towards her husband and into his arms. 'I missed you so much, I'm so sorry, I hate being away from you, hearing your voice just isn't the same as seeing you.'

'Shh, it's ok.'

'No, it's not, Nathan I wanna come home, the tour doesn't matter without you.'

'Hales, you're gonna finish the tour, you're gonna spend the next two and half months wowing the rest of America that you haven't gotten to yet, and then you're gonna come home.' She looked up at him.

'I can't leave you again, and for summer...'

'I'll be fine Hales, I won't even be here.'

'You're going to High Flyers?' He nodded and she broke into a smile. 'That's great, I'm so glad, you worked so hard for this.'

'And you worked hard for the tour. So you'll go finish it, and I'll go to High Flyers, I'll call you every single day, and in three months, we'll both be back here, ready to go back to school and be together, properly, again.'

'Wow, and I thought Lucas was the brother who was good with words.' She said, smirking slightly.

'Eh, you left me alone for so long I had to hang out with someone, I guess his bad habits rubbed off on me.' He replied, grinning down at her.

'Well you make sure you don't change too much, cause I really don't wanna be married to a Lucas clone.' Nathan laughed, bringing her in closer.

'Hey!' They looked up to see an indignant looking Lucas and Peyton who was clearly trying to muffle her laughter against his chest.

'Well, honestly Luke, would you want Peyton to start acting like me?'

'Eh, no not really, I'd rather she didn't.' He responded, smiling down at Peyton who was still trying not to laugh. 'You think Haley's funny do you?' He asked, looking down, and she shook her head, not looking up at him. 'Not very convincing. You know, it's not very nice to laugh at your boyfriend.' Now she looked up, still trying to contain her laughter.

'I'm sorry...' she trailed off, laughing.

'Hmm, I don't really believe you, but I think I know how to make you sorry.' He said softly, and when she noticed the look in his eyes, she stopped laughing and backed up.

'No, Lucas...'

'Too late.' With that, she took off running, Lucas close behind her, while their friends watched. He caught up to her quickly, scooping her up into his arms before, gently, dropping her on the nearby table that still held her sketchpad, one arm easily pinning her down, while the other found her weak spot and started tickling.

'No, Lucas!! Stop!'

'No, no, no, not until you apologise, and mean it.'

'I'm.... Lucas!!' She squirmed beneath his grip, trying to get free, and in the process, knocked her sketchpad, drawing Lucas attention to it, and the sketch she'd drawn that morning, of two people on the beach. They were facing each other, the girl in a long, white dress, the boy in a suit, their hands clasped between them. Above them were the word _'Always and Forever'_ but when he looked more closely at the boy and girl, it was Nathan and Haley like he expected. Instead, the girl had curly hair he knew would be blonde if there were colour, and the boy had longer, messy hair, and it too would be blonde.

'Lucas, what...?' Peyton turned her head and saw what he was looking at.

'When did you draw this?'

'This morning, Nathan was telling me about their wedding day, and I guess I just drew it.' She shrugged, or would have if he didn't still have her pinned. 'What's the big deal.' He finally looked away from the sketch and down at her face, and he realised she'd done it completely unintentionally, and still hadn't realised what she'd done.

'Peyt, look at their faces.' She turned back to the picture, and that's when she realised it wasn't Nathan and Haley, it was her and Lucas.

'Oh my god...' She managed to push Lucas off her, sitting up and grabbing the book. 'I was listening to him talk, but I was thinking about you, and I guess I just sort of... blended the two,' she rambled, looking everywhere but at him, until he placed a hand on her cheek, forcing her gaze up to him.

'You know how cute you get when you're embarrassed?' He asked, smirking slightly, and she groaned. 'No, really, I love it, just like I love you and the fact that you drew this, without realising, because you were listening to someone describe a wedding, and you were thinking of me and this is what happened.' He chuckled at the slightly panicked look that came into her eyes. 'Don't worry Blondie, I am in no shape, way or form proposing to you, cause as much as I love you, and see my future with you, we're 17 and I for one am not ready to get married.'

'Well thank god, for a second there I thought you were going all Naley on me.'

'Naley?' he questioned, a confused look on his face.

'You mix Nathan and Haley, and you get Naley...it's a Brooke thing. I think she called us _Leyton_ the other day.' He rolled his eyes.

'Does she have some sort of condition that makes it physically impossible for her to use anyone's _real_ name, or at least a nick-name that isn't some weird thing she concocted?' Peyton laughed.

'Um, no I think that's just her. Speaking of, what time is it?' He pulled his phone out of his jeans.

'Uh, it's after 3, why?'

'We have to meet Brooke, remember?'

'Oh, what time?'

'Well, for dinner, but she said an early dinner, so at like 6.'

'Well, that gives us some time, right? Hey Nate, how about a little one-on-one? We'll let the girls catch up, I'm sure Peyton's dying to know what a real tour is like now she has first-hand information right from the source.' He said, grinning at Haley.

'What if I said we wanted to play?' She asked, and Lucas just looked at her.

'Haley, can you throw the ball more than 2 feet?' He asked, but she didn't respond as she moved in front of the basket, and proceeded to use the bucket shot that Nathan had showed her earlier that year. She smiled as it went through the hoop before she moved to sit next to Peyton. Lucas looked at Nathan who was smiling proudly at Haley. 'I'm guessing you taught her that?' Nathan nodded. 'Whatever, you ready to get beaten again little brother?'

'Don't sound so sure of yourself, old man.'

****************************************************************

'Anna, Brooke?' Anna's mother's voice carried up the stairs of the large house early that evening. 'We should get going if we want to make it to dinner on time.'

'Coming mum!' Anna called back as the two girls rolled themselves off Anna's bed, Brooke dropping the magazine she'd been reading on the bed before searching for her shoes.

They met her parents at the front door, and Brooke smiled her famous smile at them.

'Let's get going, I know everyone's going to love meeting you all, I mean they already love Anna.' She led them out the front door, grabbing Anna's hand and dragging her behind her towards their car.

*****************************************************************

'Come on baby girl, we're going to be late for dinner.' Jake smiled down at Jenny as he placed her in her car seat. His parents had offered to take her for the night so he could enjoy the night with his friends, but even though he'd won the trial, he was still reluctant to let her out of his sight. Once he was satisfied she was safely buckled in, he got in and headed for the cafe, not wanting to get a lecture from Brooke for being late, as was sure to happen if he arrived after her.

*****************************************************************

'Come on Blondie, we still have to pick up Nathan and Haley, and you know how Brooke gets when we're late...' he trailed off as Peyton opened the bathroom door and stepped out into her room, and he stood, making his way over to her. She just smirked at him as he stood there silently, taking her in, as he seemed to every time he saw her, like there was suddenly something new and special about her. 'You know what, I've changed my mind. Let Nathan and Haley drive themselves, let Brooke yell at us.' She raised an eyebrow in question, smirk still in place. 'I'm suddenly feeling like I'd much rather stay in tonight.' She laughed, pulling him into what would be a hug if she hadn't pressed herself up against him in just the right places, teasing him in a way that would leave him distracted for the rest of the night.

'As much fun as that sounds, I'm not totally sure you're worth facing the wrath of a pissed off Brooke.' She whispered in his ear, before moving away from him, causing a low groan to escape from his mouth, and causing her to laugh once again.

'Oh that was funny for you, was it?' She nodded slightly, trying to muffle her laughter with the jacket in her hands. 'Fine, have your fun at my expense, but don't think there won't be retribution for this.'

'Oh, I'm scared now.' She said, picking up her phone from beside her bed as she made her way out of her room, leaving Lucas to follow.

'Oh, you better be,' he whispered softly, grinning as he followed her.

******************************************************************

'So, excited to see everyone again?' Nathan asked as he stood in the doorway to the bathroom, watching Haley put the finishing touches on her makeup.

'Uh, excited, nervous... completely scared they'll hate me.' She mumbled the last bit, but not softly enough, and Nathan frowned.

'Haley, none of them hate you for following your dreams. If you'd completely forgotten about them all, yeah maybe, and I think Peyton might've considered kicking your ass if you'd never called me, or Lucas but you did, and most importantly, since they all know that I'm happy for you, they're happy for you.'

'Wow... you really have been spending _far_ too much time with Lucas, haven't you?'

'Yeah, god I really am starting to sound like him, aren't I? See? Just another reason I need to keep you around once this tour's over.'

'Oh yeah? Another reason huh? What are some of the other ones?' She asked, coming up to him, wrapping her arms around him, resting her head on his chest.

'Well, I mean you're really smart, so there's that, cause you know it really does help being married to your tutor. And you're kind of beautiful,' he said softly, and she looked up at him. 'And there's always the fact that, well, I'm kinda in love with you.'

'Yeah? Kinda?' she asked, smiling.

'Kinda... really, madly, more than is usually possible at our age. Enough, more than enough, to know that marrying you was the smartest thing I've ever done, except, you know, ask you out in the first place.'

'Excuse me, I do remember that Brooke set up our first date, there was no asking done by you.'

'Really? That must've slipped my mind.'

'Hmm, must've.' She agreed, nodding. 'Well, it's good to know that you kinda love me, cause you know, I kinda love you too. And I've _really_ missed you these last few months, and I'm gonna miss you even more over the summer.' She ended softly, burying her head back into his chest, and he wrapped his arms tighter around her.

'I've missed you too, and the next three months are gonna be hell without you, but you know, at the end, we'll both be back here, together again, and happier for doing what we want, what we need. And if being apart for a little while again means when we get back we're that much more sure of everything, and really ready to be _together_, then I'm all for it. It'll be worth it in the end, right?'

'Right.' Although neither of them really sounded sure in what they were saying, they let it go, both wanting to just be there, together, for the short amount of time they had, which wasn't long since Nathan's phone started to ring, telling them Lucas and Peyton were around the corner, and bringing them back to the real world.

***********************************************************

'Alright, so now that everyone is here, _finally_,' Brooke started once they were all gathered in Karen's Cafe, throwing Peyton and Lucas a look, 'we can start on the evening's festivities... in about two minutes. Dinner will start momentarily, but first, some introductions are in order. Everyone, this is Mr and Mrs Taggaro, Anna's parents.' There was a silence in the room as everyone stared at the older couple, then around to Anna who was standing near Brooke. Lucas was the first to speak, recovering from the shock after only a minute.

'Anna's parents?' He asked, and Brooke nodded. He hadn't missed the fact that she had said _Anna's_ parents. He looked at Anna, smiled, then moved towards her parents, hand out, still smiling. 'It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Lucas.'

'It's nice to meet you too, we heard all about you from Brooke this morning,' her father said, returning the hand shake. Lucas shot Brooke a confused look, but she simply smiled in return, turning to her best friend and grinning.

She watched as, one by one, everyone introduced themselves to Frank and Elizabeth, as they had told everyone to call them, when she noticed the girl beside Nathan, eyebrow raised and she listened to them talking.

'It's so nice to meet you, although I have to admit I've been out of the loop the last few months.' Haley was saying, smiling up at Nathan as his arm came around her waist.

'Yes, Brooke told us you'd been on tour, singing. That's fantastic, for someone so young, and you're married, correct?' Once again she smiled up at Nathan.

'That's right.'

'Well, I must say I was shocked when I heard, but seeing you, together despite the time you've been apart, I have to say your love must be strong to overcome this, and if you have, I believe you'll overcome anything.'

'Oh my god, TUTOR GIRL!!' Brooke's voice rang out through the cafe, and everyone stopped and turned to look at her. She ran at a surprised Haley, pulling her into a brief hug, before pulling back to glare at her. 'When did you get back? Why didn't you tell me you were back? How did I not notice you standing next to Nathan?' She demanded, the last question directed more at herself, and Haley smiled, amused at her antics. She pulled her into another hug. 'I'm so glad you're home.'

'Me too, Tigger, me too.'

**********************************************************************

'So Jake, how's it been, knowing you have Jenny and you don't have to worry about Nikki coming around trying to take her anymore?' Haley asked later, after they were done with dinner, sitting down next to him, giving him a questioning look before taking Jenny softly out of his arms, smiling down at the baby girl.

'Amazing. I guess the possibility of losing her just made her that much more precious, you know?'

'Mmm, I can't imagine the fear of thinking you could lose your baby, that would terrify me.'

'I guess a welcome back is in order, huh?'

'Yeah, I mean, I'm going back in a day, but, it feels good to be home, to know I can still call this place home and to know that, when I come back, it'll still be here... that Nathan will still be here, too. And I have to say thank you to you too.'

'You're welcome, but you know I didn't really do anything.'

'Well, you did, but that's beside the point. Thank you. And I'm so glad you won, just in case you couldn't tell. I wish I'd been here, but I'm so glad. Not many guys in your position would have ever stepped up and done what you did, especially with the amount of love you did it with. You're a great guy Jake Jagielski, Jenny's lucky to have you.'

'Well, you're not so bad yourself, Haley James, and Nathan's lucky to have you, as will any kids you have in the future.'

'Thanks, but hopefully that future's still a few years off, I don't know if I could quite handle being a mother just yet. I know I got married young, but I'm still not _that_ ready to start a family.' She said with a smile, looking down at Jenny. 'You got really lucky with this one, you know that?'

'Yeah, I did.' He said, taking her back when Haley held her out gently. She watched as he moved away to put her in her down in the crib as she was starting to get sleepy.

'You know, you look pretty good with a kid, you're not planning to make me an uncle anytime soon, are you?' Lucas asked, taking the seat Jake had just vacated. Haley looked at him, startled.

'What? No!'

'Ok, calm down, just checking. I'm too young to be an uncle now anyway.' He grinned at her, and she smiled in return.

'Loser.'

'Yeah, yeah, you know you're lucky to have me.'

'Well, I guess I do have you to thank for my husband, so...'

'I'll take that as your way of saying you're glad we're best friends?' he asked, and she nodded.

'We got real lucky, didn't we? I mean, we were pretty happy just the two of us, but now, I've got Nathan, you've got Peyton, we've both got Brooke, and everyone.' She said, looking over to where their significant others were standing, laughing about something, and where Brooke was talking with Anna, Elizabeth and Karen. Jake was talking to Frank as he watched Jenny fall asleep.

'Yeah, things have definitely changed since it was just the two of us, haven't they? But at least it was a good change, cause you're right, despite everything that's happened, you have Nathan, I have Peyton and we have some great friends. All in all, I'd have to say accepting Whitey's offer was one of the smarter moves I've made this year.'

'Well, considering some of the dumb things you did...I'm kidding, I am definitely glad you joined the ravens. But let's just hope that next year isn't as _interesting_ as this year. I'm not sure I could handle that much excitement again.'

'I second that. I'm glad you're my best friend, Haley James _Scott_.'

'Well, I'm glad you're my best friend too, Lucas _Eugene_ Scott.'

'Hey, we agreed, no using the middle name in public, or ever!' He said, glaring at her, as she grinned at him.

'Hey Broody, Tutor Wife, get over here. Geez, you had an entire car trip to catch up with her, stop hogging her.' Brooke said as they neared, pulling Haley over to her discussion with Anna, leaving Lucas to wander towards Peyton, who was watching him as Nathan followed Haley, wrapping his arms around her as he stood behind her, not joining in the conversation, content to just hold her until she had to go back to the tour.

'You did a good thing, Luke, bringing her back. I mean, I think they would've been ok, but it would've been much harder if she'd stayed away longer.'

'Mmm, it was her idea. I mean, I kinda hoped she'd come back, but I didn't bring it up or anything. She literally chased me as I was driving away, deciding she was coming back with me. I'm glad she did.'

'You know, I'm so glad this year is over.'

'What, you haven't had a good year? Considering we got together, I'm kinda hurt.'

'No, it's been a good year, overall, but considering the parts that weren't so good, it's been a long year, so I'm glad it's over, and that it's ending this way. Hopefully next year'll be more like..._this_.' He looked down at her as he wrapped his arms around her, leaning down to press a quick kiss to her lips, smiling as he did so.

'I understand completely. So, Ms Sawyer, since all the craziness of the year seems to be behind us, are you ready to just be happy?' He asked, holding his hand out.

'I thought you'd never ask.' She replied, putting her hand in his, before they made their way over to where their friends were all gathered, talking and laughing.

Anyone looking in at the group wouldn't just see friends, old and new, they would see family, both old and new, because that's what they were now. It might have taken a lot for them to get here, but they had, and they got there together, and really, that's all that matters.

The year was over, but all the relationships that had formed were still going, some were being fixed or renewed and made stronger than ever. That's what summer was for. They might be going their separate ways for a few months, but for now, they were all content being _happy_, knowing all the drama was behind them.

At least for the summer, because let's face it, there's still senior year.

A/N: Ok, so there it is... I am planning to do a sequel, but that will probably not be for a while, I want to work on finishing my other stories first. Anyway, I hope you liked it, and it made sense – sorry for any continuity errors, I wrote this over a period of about three months. Oh, and I know you probably can't drive to New York in a day, but you know... it's a story :D Anyway, thanks to all the people who read this, and those who reviewed, you always make my day. Thanks for sticking by this and I hope the ending lived up to what you wanted. Until next time...


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